Tag: Pondering Idols and Idolatry and God

The Second Commandment: Have or Make No Image Engraved or in Mind. Exodus 20:1-4

Exodus 20:1-4 Amplified Bible

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments are the supreme expression of God’s will in the Old Testament and merit our close attention.

They are to be thought of not as the ten most important commands among hundreds of others, but as a digest of the entire Torah.

The foundation of all of the Torah rests in these Ten Commandments, and somewhere within them we should be able to find all the law.

Jesus expressed the essential unity of the Ten Commandments with the rest of the law when he summarized the law in the famous words,

“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). 

All the law, as well as laws of the prophets, is indicated whenever the Ten Commandments are expressed.

The essential unity of the Ten Commandments with the rest of the law, and their continuity with the New Testament, invites each and every on us to apply them to today’s ministries broadly in light of the rest of the Holy Scriptures.

That is, when applying the Ten Commandments, we will take into account related passages of Scripture in both the Hebrew [Old] and New Testaments.

“You Shall Have No Other Gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3)

The first commandment reminds us that everything in the Torah flows from the love we have for God, which in turn is a response to the love he has for us.

This unconventional, inexpressible miracle of love was demonstrated by God’s deliverance of Israel “out of the house of slavery” in Egypt (Exodus 20:2).

In our heart of hearts, from within the deepest depths of our souls, nothing else in our lives should concern us more than our desire to love and be loved by God.

If we do have some other concern stronger to us than our love for God, and who of us does not have other “stronger concerns,” they are not so much that we are breaking God’s rules, but that we are not really in relationship with Father God.

The other concern—be it money, power, security, recognition, sex, or anything else—has become our god.

These gods will have their own commandments at odds with God’s, and we will inevitably violate the Torah as we try to comply with these god’s requirements.

Observing the Ten Commandments is only conceivable for those who start by being determined to diligently study, to pray at having no other god than God.

In the realm of work, this means that we are not to let work or its requirements and fruits displace God as our most important concern in life.

“Never allow anyone or anything to threaten God’s central place in your life,” as Dr. David W. Gill [https://www.davidwgill.org/] puts it. 

Because many people work primarily to make money for their and their family’s future, we might just conclude that an inordinate desire for money is probably one of the most common work-related dangers to the first commandment.

Jesus warned of exactly this danger. “No one can serve two masters…. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24).

But almost anything related to work can become twisted in our desires to the point that it interferes with our love for God.

How many promising up and coming, careers come to a tragic end because the means to accomplish things for the love of God—such as political power, financial sustainability, steadfast commitment to the job, status among peers, or superior performance—become their alpha to omega ends in themselves?

When, for example, recognition on the job becomes simply far more important than character on the job, is it not a sign that their reputation is displacing their love of God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, as ultimate Alpha to Omega concern?

A practical touchstone in balancing life lived in the world of man and God is to just ask whether our love of God is shown by the way we treat people on the job.

“Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4:20-21).

If we put our individual concerns ahead of our concern for the people we work with, for, and among, then we have made our individual concerns our god.

In particular, if we treat other people as things to be manipulated, obstacles to overcome, instruments to obtain what we want, or simply neutral objects in our field of view, then we starkly demonstrate that we do not love God with all our heart, soul, and mind as required by the Word of God for the Children of God.

In this context, we can begin to list some work-related actions that have a high potential to interfere with our love for God.

Doing work that violates our conscience.

Working in an organization where we have to harm others to succeed.

Working such long hours that we have little time to pray, worship, rest, and otherwise deepen our relationship with God.

Working among people who demoralize us or seduce us away from our love for God.

Working where alcohol, drug abuse, violence, sexual harassment, corruption, disrespect, racism, or other inhumane treatments mar the image of God in us and the people we encounter in our work – our co-workers and our neighbors.

If we can find ways to avoid these dangers at work—even if it means finding a new job—it would be wise for us to seek God, study, pray, to consider to do so.

If that is not possible, we can at least be aware that we need help and support to maintain our love of God in the face of our work.

“You Shall Not Make for Yourself an Idol” (Exodus 20:4)

The second commandment raises the issue of idolatry.

Making and then Naming our Golden calves then marketing them for all to see.

Idols are gods of our own creation, gods that have nothing to them that did not originate with us, gods that we feel we control.

In ancient times, idolatry often took the form of worshiping physical objects.

But the issue is really one of trust and devotion.

On what “shirt” do we ultimately pin our hope of well-being and success upon?

On whose “lapel” should we ultimately pin our hopes of well-being and success upon?

Anything, Anyone, which is not capable of fulfilling our hope—that is, anything other than God—is an idol, whether or not it is a physical object, even a person.

The story of a family forging an idol with the intent to manipulate God, and the disastrous personal, social, and economic consequences which then tragically follow, are memorably told in Judges 17-21.

In the world of work, it is common to speak of money, fame, and power as potential idols, and rightly so.

They are not idolatrous, per se, and in fact may be utterly necessary for us to accomplish our roles in God’s creative and redemptive work in the world.

Yet when we then imagine that we have ultimate control over them, or that by achieving them our safety and prosperity will be secured, we have begun the so inevitable “foot to shovel to earth to digging our grave” descent into idolatry.

The same may occur with virtually every other element of success, including our preparation, hard work, creativity, risk, wealth and other resources, and favorable circumstances.

As Christian workers, we have to recognize how important these are.

As God’s people, we must recognize when we begin to idolize them.

By God’s grace alone, we can overcome the temptation to worship these good things in their own right.

The development of genuinely godly wisdom and skill for any task is “so that your entire trust may be in the Lord alone” [Proverbs 22:19].

The distinctive element of idolatry is the human-made nature of the idol.

At work, a danger of idolatry arises when we mistake our power, knowledge, and opinions for reality.

When we stop holding ourselves accountable to the standards we set for others, cease listening to others’ ideas, or seek to crush those who disagree with us, are we not beginning to make and shape, obsess over our graven idols of ourselves?

No Image Engraved or in Mind [eXODUS 20:4]

Exodus 20:4 Amplified Bible

4 “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

If the first commandment

—“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3)—deals with the object of our worship, the second commandment deals with the manner of our worship.

What the second commandment tells us is that it is not enough that we worship the correct God; we must also worship Him correctly.

The crystal clear and immediate meaning of the command is that God is to be worshiped without any visual symbols of Him.

Why the prohibition?

Because God is spirit: infinite and unfathomably great.

No physical representation could ever do justice to His glory and grandeur.

The problem with statues, shrines, and pictures is not that they don’t look good but that no matter how good they look, they will all inevitably severely blur the truth about God’s nature and character.

Such images will tend to distract men and women from genuinely worshiping the true and living God, [John 4:20-24] instead leading them to naively worship whatever physical representation of God is placed before them in the sanctuary.

Yet the second commandment takes us beyond mere images and idol-making and into our own thought life.

Our hands may be innocent of the skills and craftsmanship of hand making graven images, but our thoughts and imaginations are so seldom unskilled.

Any conception of God in our minds and hearts that is not derived from Scripture runs foul of this command.

When God gave strict instructions for the building of the temple, He ordered that the ark of the covenant, on which His presence would dwell, should reside in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:34).

What was inside the ark?

Perhaps most significant is what was not in it: it contained no visible, physical, hand shaped representation of God.

Instead, there were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.

It was as if God was saying to His people, as He says to us, Don’t look for Me in shrines, paintings, or statues. I’m not there. Look for Me in My word.

So we take our cues from God. If we want to worship Him—if we want to meet with Him and know what He is like—we must conform our minds to His word.

Our own attempts to conceive of God apart from divine revelation will utterly, invariably fail.

He has published His truth in His word, and so we are to tether ourselves to what is revealed there.

What’s at stake in this is the integrity not only of our worship but also of our lives—because when people go wrong in their worship, they’ll end up going wrong in their living.

Anything and anyone that encourages us to worship the correct God incorrectly will prove to be a detriment to our spiritual growth.

What an absolute tragedy it would be to embrace an image and miss the person of Christ, to sit at a shrine and miss the Savior, to worship a misconception and fail to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Holy Words of God.

Instead, resist the temptation to modify God in your mind or to conform Him to your own graven image, and be sure to KNOW Him as He has revealed Himself.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

The Joy of Integrity Prayer

God, my Father, my Guide and Guardian of my life, illuminate my mind so I can better understand just how you want me to live. Your Living Word tells me that people of integrity who diligently follow after your instructions are joyful. You have said that those who obey your laws and search for you with all their hearts are blessed and happy. I plead with you for my own share of that indescribable joy! Intercessor Holy Spirit, please guard me and my thoughts against allowing evil to influence what I believe and do. Help me walk only in your paths. May my actions, and my worship more consistently reflect what you have said is right, good.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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What does it mean for us to have no other gods before God? Exodus 20:1-3

Exodus 20:1-3Amplified Bible

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Perhaps the most basic truth about the God of Scripture is He is the only one.

There is no other.

This truth ought to simplify things for us because it teaches us that there is only one who is the worthy object of our love, loyalty, and devotion.

But the hearts of men and women are not so easily convinced or instructed.

And so it is necessary for God to give us the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

The danger is not that there are actual other gods for us to worship but that we have a proclivity for making them.

On first glance, this first command is straightforward.

To live for a god other than the true God would be like taking a second spouse while your first spouse is still alive and still happy to be your spouse.

Worse, it would be like taking a second spouse who is in truth a figment of your imagination.

It would be a seriously severe breach of an exclusive relationship.

We must not kid ourselves that we are immune from the possibility of breaking this commandment.

Many of us read it and then picture people bowing down before statues or going through elaborate rituals, and those mental images assure us that we are not in much danger of violating it.

Yet the commandments are not restricted to our outward actions but also relate to the disposition of our minds and hearts.

From this perspective, there is the tough realization we may not be as far from those mental images as we assume.

We may not have statues to which we bow down, but maybe we have segments of our lives that we keep away from God, preserving them under the authority and exclusive sovereignty of some other little “deity”—ourselves, perhaps.

Ask yourself:

“Do I joyfully acknowledge God’s exclusive comprehensive claim on my life?”

“Is God in Alpha to Omega charge of my family, my work, my relationships, my money, my dating, my use of my time, my talents, my gifts and my services?”

Take a close and honest look to see if there are portions of life you try to keep from Him.

In addition to our keeping, “secreting” things away from God, another form of danger is functionally replacing Him.

When we put our family, our job, our hobbies, or anything else in the place that is God’s alone, we violate the first commandment.

To the degree that we allow anyone or anything besides obedience to God to direct our course day to day, we defy His law.

So we are not so safe from the possibility of breaking this commandment as we may think!

While we must acknowledge the truth that there is one God, we must also beware our own ability to put things in His place.

If we do not daily submit ourselves to Him and entrust the entirety of our lives to Him, something will take His place.

We are made to worship.

The question is, are you going to worship the living God or are you going to pretend there is another?

Put serious focus on these words: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’

God’s Word leads us to the full life Christ died for us to live.

The Ten Commandments are guardrails for our modern-day lives.

We no longer live in the Old Testament church, where animal sacrifices upon altars were required for breaking God’s laws.

Today, we live under the new covenant, ushered in by Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross to forgive our multitude of sins.

We cannot follow the Ten Commandments through our own sheer will but can aim to through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us at salvation.

Still, we will never hit the mark of perfection as Christ did. He loved the Father with His whole heart, soul, and mind.

Thankfully, perfection is not required of us.

What Does ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’ Mean?

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Matthew 22:37-39

In ancient times, and in some places and people groups around the globe today, people worship a variety of gods.

God clearly stated, “I am,” and commands His people to worship Him alone.

“No deity, real or imagined, is to rival the one true God in Israel’s heart and life” (NIV Study Bible).

Worshipping other gods gives a false sense of security from a source other than God, who is everywhere, all-powerful, and all-knowing.

The Hebrew, often translated as ‘besides me’ or ‘before me,’ means ‘in my presence.

The point is that nothing else can qualify as god in your life.

The true God is not only to be number one but the only one. 

Other gods can also constitute things we place higher than God in our lives.

The Bible defines these as idols, and they can be anything from money and possessions to food and working out or people and relationships.

Anything or anyone we place above God is another god.

As Christians, we are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” ( 1 Peter 2:9). 

We are God’s people, set apart to live according to his ways.

His ways are not, and never will be, our ways.

Our tendencies are to cave to the cravings of our flesh and fall prey to the thinking they will give us the comfort and happiness we need.

God is faithful to bless us in this life, but there is no blessing bigger and more important than the source of the blessing.

Our marriages, best friends, jobs, houses, habits, and hobbies all take a serious backseat to the ONLY One who numbers our days.

Why Is it Important That ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’ Is the First Commandment?

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” [1 Timothy 2:5]

God’s laws are for our own good.

He is a loving Father who provides rules, boundaries, and discipline for His children as any good parent/caregiver does.

We don’t earn or keep our salvation by following God’s rules.

Obedience is a heart issue, which expresses our faith and trust in the Lord by instilling limits in our lives.

He has our best interest in mind.

Though Christians do not believe achieving the law is demanded for salvation, they still see the Ten Commandments as the establishment of God’s moral law. 

Jesus called people to an even higher standard by obeying the commandments not only in their behavior but also in their hearts and minds.

When we take the time to be with God each day through prayer, worship, and the Word, we get to know Him better.

We’re not promised an understanding of all of the ways of God, but the deeper our relationship is with Him, the more we trust and obey.

God’s timing in waiting until the third order to give the commandments was no coincidence.

He had already proven Himself as their Deliverer and Provider and it was time to test their faith and reveal His divine standards for them.

God’s people knew then He who He was to them: their Provider and Deliverer.

He is unchanging.

He’s still our Provider and Deliverer today, and so much more.

Why Did God Need to Say ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’?

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.'” Exodus 32:1

God’s people struggled with faithfulness to Him.

In their fickleness, impatience, and lack of faith, they quickly turned to the temptation to worship as other nations did.

This time, it was by creating a golden calf representing Baal to worship.

But over time, Scripture mentions others gods they worshipped, too: Molek, Chemosh, Dagon, Asherah, and more.

In ancient times, this law steered people away from the many false gods worshipped by various cultures. 

God’s people were surrounded by other nations who worshipped other gods.

I imagine, much like we easily compare ourselves to others who live different lifestyles today, God’s ancient people often wondered what life would be like if they worshiped other gods.

It’s a temptation they often fell into and angered God with.

What Other Gods Might Christians Be Tempted to Bow Down to Today?

“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” Matthew 4:10

Before we are tempted to think of God’s ancient people in a bad light, we have to realize that the devil tempted even Jesus to worship other gods!

In the modern, new covenant age we live in, we are tempted every day to look outside of the providence, provision of God for something the world promises to give us.

In fact, the world will always tempt us to believe we are entitled to certain things, such as amenities and circumstances.

When we genuinely seek to obey it with all our hearts, the first commandment guards us against falling for those lies.

In Modern times, this Commandment is a warning against elevating money or other worldly things to god-like status in our lives.

We could include social media, the Internet, shopping, coffee, or even our gym memberships.

Anything we are tempted to find happiness and peace in other than God is a lie that will end up failing us. 

Outside of Christ, we are only wretched.

But in Christ Jesus, united to him, we are completely forgiven of our constant failure to keep them, his constant and perfect keeping of them is credited to us.

Jesus died for us, knowing we would not only be tempted by these things but fall prey to them, too.

Sometimes, we dive right in without much convincing or swaying.

The hope of Christ Jesus assures us forgiveness when we turn from those idols and other gods- no matter how deep we’re in – and come back to the Lord, who is our all in all.

The first commandment addresses a very human struggle, unavoidable even to the most faithful. Following this commandment perfectly is not God’s goal.

He knows we can’t do that.

He is much more concerned with our hearts, our trust in and obedience to Him.

The Holy Spirit will convict us when we’re falling off the rails.

And when we are genuinely repentant to turn back to Jesus, over and over again, He eagerly welcomes us all, washes us with His living water, again and again.  

God always has our best interest in mind.

He loves us so much He sacrificed His one and only Son Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

He saved us from ourselves before we saw our first fleck of sunlight.

He knit us in our mother’s womb with such care, gifted us with talents, and gave each of us a unique purpose on this earth no one else can accomplish.

Our God loves us wholly, perfectly, and completely.

In Him, we find peace and happiness, hope and comfort, encouragement and love.

The true gauge of our lives is measured only by God, the Father, through our relationship with Him through Christ Jesus, our Savior.

He alone knows, and can plumb the deepest depths of our hearts and our souls.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

A Prayer to Have No Other Gods before God

Abba, Father. 

You are the best Father to us. Yahweh, You are the path to peace, hope, and grace. Christ Jesus, Messiah, we come to the Father through You alone, by Your sacrifice to forgive our sins. Holy Spirit, You convict and counsel us when we fall away and stray from the guardrails intended to help us live our lives to the full. Help us to cling to this commandment, to love You alone, God. May our lives bring glory to You, today and always. Help us to grow a love for Your Word that inspires us to come to You daily through it, Father. You tell us to pray about everything. Let us each take Your wisdom into every day of our lives and let it fill our hearts to the brim. We pray to saturate our minds with Your wisdom so that we follow it in our daily lives, Father. 

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Who has any Hope now for “The Great I Am?” Idolatry, Equality with God? “To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Isaiah 40:12-31

Isaiah 40:12-31 New Living Translation

The Lord Has No Equal

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[a]
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice?

15 No, for all the nations of the world
    are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
    than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
    as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
    and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough
    to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
    In his eyes they count for less than nothing—
    mere emptiness and froth.

18 To whom can you compare God?
    What image can you find to resemble him?
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
    overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that,
    they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
    to carve an image that won’t fall down!

21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
    Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
    Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
    The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
    and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
    and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
    when he blows on them and they wither.
    The wind carries them off like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Look up into the heavens.
    Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
    calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
    not a single one is missing.

27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
    O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
    Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
    No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

What is equality?

To be equal is to be as great as, alike in quantity and quality, evenly proportioned and balanced, and uniform in operation.

Equality is correspondence in all aspects and the slightest deviation results in an equivalent.

God has called you, me, the church, to be equally yoked which requires a clear separation from the sin and darkness to maintain all aspects of His Likeness.

The world has called for us to lower our standards to be equal.

As believers, we are in this world but not of this world.

We are to love all mankind as Jesus Christ did but not become entangled in civilian affairs.

No matter what our political viewpoints may or may not be, we are foreigners in this land called the Kingdom of God with a heavenly home far, far away.

We live in a somewhat democratic society that has skewed our understanding of God’s Sovereignty and our own self-worth.

We are called to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

This requires a transition from this world to a place of consecrated holiness – mind, body and spirit.

Just because society has decided everything in life is either good or bad, equal and unequal, to call sin ‘equality’ – does not mean is holy acceptable to God.

Just because God decided to extend grace, mercy and love to His People did not change His Mind on His Way and Word.

We must be very careful that in growing in the love and admonition of Jesus Christ that we do not lower our standards and worth to make sin acceptable and okay as a lifestyle or social status – ever.

We are called to unequally yoked to this world and to be wholly acceptable to God which is our living sacrifice, willing reasonable service. (Romans 12:1-2)

The Way of God is Jesus Christ. He came, died and rose again so that we could be transformed not to be conformed to the sin darkened image of this world.

We must each evaluate our life according to balanced and equal measure which comes from the Word of God which wrapped in flesh is Jesus Christ. Everything in our life should be compared to His Glorious Standard which never changed.

Isaiah 40:25-26Authorized (King James) Version

25 To whom then will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold who hath created these things,
that bringeth out their host by number:
he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might,
for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

Who can compare to God?

Who is His Equal?

Good question.

Isaiah 40:12-31 tells of the unsurpassable Greatness and Power of God.

If we the people – meaning you, meaning me, meaning the Body of Christ would only look past the present days comprising their daily life to forever, they would see the true Glory of God and His Sovereignty that makes earthly pursuits futile.

Whose standard of living?

Whose standard of Glory is the correct measure of the “righteous, correct” life?

With our Idolatry as the “great I am” or with His Equality The “GREAT I AM”?

If we could each bring ourselves to a place of God’s Shalom and not our own, to see it definitely doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about the Lord in terms of His Power – He is still All-Powerful – His Authority is not comprised by doubt!

There is no other god ever noted in history that is like our God. (2 Samuel 7:22)

Our inability to comprehend His Being or our refusal, our own unwillingness to accept only His Dominion, His Sovereignty, His Authority, does not change His Identity or Character – it does have any impact on our future and well-being.

Humanity has decided that there is no God or placed the Lord in a fairytale status that is a great story but is not real.

There is absolutely no equal to God. (Psalm 40:5)

A life that is lived in contradiction to this Truth is perceived as rebellion against God and His Kingdom.

On Judgment Day, this will become very real to people which is heartbreaking considering the freedom we have to know and worship God. (John 14:1-14)

God has deemed you and me of great worth.

He sent His Son as a payment for your sins so that He could re-establish a connectional relationship with you and re-establish a relationship with me.

His Holy Spirit lives inside of those who call on His Name as a guide and compass to consecration and citizenship in Heaven. (John 14:15-17)

Yet few take the time to know and understand the Lord and His Great Worth.

Oh, that we could all understand the Greatness of God and His Power – it would change, transform the way we live, act and communicate as we each strive to be His People rather than blending in “equally”, “in our equality” with the crowd.

Isaiah 28:10-13New Living Translation

10 He tells us everything over and over—
one line at a time,
    one line at a time,
a little here,
    and a little there!”

11 So now God will have to speak to his people
    through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
12 God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
    let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
    But they would not listen.
13 So the Lord will spell out his message for them again,
one line at a time,
    one line at a time,
a little here,
    and a little there,
so that they will stumble and fall.
    They will be injured, trapped, and captured.

God does not change. (Malachi 3:6)

Let not our hearts an souls be troubled, Jesus is the only Way, only Truth and only Life! Nobody, but nobody gets to God but through Him. (John 14:1-6)

The Lord hates sin.

Always has and He always will.

His Word has not changed and will never be void. (Isaiah 55:10-13)

It will continue to circle the earth until its purpose is accomplished.

Believers love the part of this truth that pertains to blessing, favor, increase, prosperity and promises.

However, when it comes to transforming their life into a holy, consecrated vessel that houses the Spirit of the Living God and is fully committed to His Kingdom – we call out for God’s forgiveness, God’s mercy and God’s grace.

Grace is not an excuse or exemption.

It is an extension of God’s Hand to assist us when we inevitably fall.

It makes way for a quick apology when we accidentally step on God’s “Toes”.

Please understand it does not change God’s Expectation of us.

He expects us to come out of the darkness because we are now Children of the Light.

The Lord expects us to separate our lives from sin to be like Him.

We are to hate sin like God does.

He expects us to love others equally, but not their sinful habits and inclinations.

God loves every sinner, every single “life cheating” one of us.

God desires relationship with everyone – without exception!

It doesn’t matter one iota if we are male, female or unsure, where we live, work and play, what color our skin is, whether we are heterosexual, homosexual or asexual, or whatever political affiliation is upon our voter registration cards.

Isaiah 55:1-3New Living Translation

Invitation to the Lord’s Salvation

55 “Is anyone thirsty?
    Come and drink—
    even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
    it’s all free!
2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
    Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
    You will enjoy the finest food.

3 “Come to me with your ears wide open.
    Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
    I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

Jeremiah 29:10-14New Living Translation

10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

This invitation, these promises from God extend to quite literally everyone – without exception, without judgment, without our biases or even prejudices!

He Created Us all! He knows us inside out. His Love provided grace so we could each step out of the social circles and/or sin of this world and into His Presence where there is peace, fullness of joy and pleasures evermore. (Psalms 16, 139)

Grace did not lower His Standards or Expectations of His People.

Rather than taking a stand for a political cause, it is time for Christians to take a stand for a righteous call beginning in their own life.

False teaching is rampant and the only way to escape these lies and deceptions is to know the Truth.

God loves everyone.

He hates everyone’s sin.

Now is a good and acceptable time to ultimately know God and His Authority and Power to align our lives with His Kingdom and stop living as betrayers of His Grace and Glory accepting less than God’s Very Best and calling it “equal.”

Philippians 3:1-11New Living Translation

The Priceless Value of Knowing Christ

3 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters,[a] rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God[b] are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[c] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

We cannot assume equality with God because of His Grace.

He is giving us an opportunity to reestablish a relationship with Him.

Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth and Life – the ONLY WAY.

We cannot make up our own rules or pick a doctrine that suits us the best.

He gave us His Spirit so that we could rightly divide the Word of God and pray an apply it to our life – our Ignorance of His Word is no longer anyone’s excuse. (2 Timothy 2:14-18, 2 Timothy 3: 10-17, Hebrews 4:12-13)

God expects you, me, the church to know because we called His Name First.

We are to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:1-11)

He came to do His Father’s Will.

He gave up divine privileges so that we can regain them.

He humbled himself in obedience to God – even to death on a Cross.

What gives us the ‘privilege’ to think God would expect anything less from us?

God elevated Jesus Christ because of His Obedience, wants to do the same for us.

We must use accurate scales to measure our life. (Proverbs 16:11)

God calls for honest measures.

His Word is the most solid measurement of our life and man’s interpretation should always be evaluated next to HIS TRUTH and never as from the Source.

God finds false weights and unequal measures detestable and grace did not change His Opinion. (Proverbs 20:10)

Exactly right now is the good and acceptable time for us to discover our true worth and maximum value to God and make it our “daily cross,” live up to it.

We must each experience Jesus Christ to discover what God expects from us and do IT, rather than constantly trying to lower the bar for our own guilty pleasure.

Instead, constantly raise the bar, Continuously advancing the standard of God!

Ephesians 3:14-21New Living Translation

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[a] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[b] 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

I believe the Apostle Paul was using all the possible adjectives he could think of, all the dimensions he knew, in order to give us all a ‘glimpse’ of the love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made;
were every stalk on earth a quill,
and every man a scribe by trade;
to write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.

If we know Jesus, the Son of God who became man to die for my sins and yours, as God deeply desires we know Jesus Christ as our Savior, we would truly agree.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Creating God,

it has been told to us since the very beginning

that you are truly the Lord of all that is and ever shall be. 

You are the God of both the prince and pauper,

of feast and famine,

of the mighty and the weak —

and yet, you do not favor the strong over the powerless. 

Remind us of your unsurpassable love as we read the scriptures,

O God of True Justice. 

You have no equal ….

We cannot strive enough to be Your equal ….

Yet, We do try too hard …. Open our eyes – open our hearts –

that we may be strengthened and renewed by your Word.

In Jesus’ Name …. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Preparation for Advent. Idolatry – We Become Who and What we Worship. Idols and Images and God. Psalm 115:1-8

Psalm 115:1-8Amplified Bible

Pagan Idols Contrasted with the Lord.

115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth and faithfulness.
2 
Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
3 
But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 
The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
5 
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6 
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7 
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
Nor can they make a sound with their throats.
8 
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

We do not talk about idols much these days.

And when we do, it’s probably about a pop super­star or an American Idol winner.

Neitzsche who famously once wrote, “God is dead,” also wrote, “If there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God?”  

That is a core issue in our idolatrous hearts.

We would kill God so that we can be God.

It is not that we deny God; we just replace Him with ourselves.

Recently some fans of a rap artist named Kanye wrote a book called “The Book of Yeezus” where they take the Bible and replace God with the rappers name.

The “famed” rapper even has a song called, “I am God.”

This is the reality of an idolatrous heart.

Therefore, we always have a desire to be our own authority, our own god.  

Even to deny God, is to fill that gap with ourselves as the sole determiner of what is true or not. Denying God is in itself an act of making oneself God.

Ancient idols, ancient graven images were nothing more than symbols used to get what we selfishly desired. 

In our modern materialistic society our deities are no longer objects that need to be appeased or placated, but rather things that appease or placate us. 

That is the ultimate goal in idol worship.  

Genesis 11:1-4 NASB

The Tower of Babel

11 Now all the earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed [c]east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and [d] settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and [e] fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”

I have heard it said of idolatry “that it is to embrace an insufficiently educated form, and wholly inadequate view of God or to make God seem more like us.”

The outcome of this idolatrous attitude is preferring to do things for our namesake (Genesis 11:1-4), not the Lord’s.

This idolatry of self-desire is ridiculously rampant and ruinous to the utmost. 

But when the Bible talks about idols, it usually means carved images that stood in for false gods.

The Bible issues strong warnings about that sort of idol.

On their own, idols are powerless.

As Psalm 115:4-7 says, they may have eyes and ears and hands and feet, but they cannot see, hear, feel, or walk!

Yet when people worship idols, they give power to them, destructive power.

That’s why, for example, the Bible warns against greed. Greed makes an idol out of wealth.

And when wealth is worshiped, it has the power to turn people into Scrooge like misers or “Grinch” like mobsters and thieves and joy killers or market frauds.

We have all hear it before – False gods, and their images, are utterly dangerous!

John Calvin famously said that “man’s nature is a perpetual factory of idols.”

I do not believe there is anyone reading this who would not say Mr. Calvin was anything but absolutely right!

What Is Idolatry in the Bible? Its Definition and Significance ….

According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Idolatry is “image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object.”

Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Romans 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (Romans 1:28).

The forms of idolatry are,

  • Fetishism, or the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.
  • Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.
  • Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.

Idolatry in the Bible

In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations.

The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father’s teraphim (Genesis 31:19), which were the relics of the worship of other gods by Laban’s progenitors “on the other side of the river in old time” (Joshua 24:2).

During their long residence in Egypt the Hebrews fell into idolatry, and it was long before they were delivered from it (Joshua 24:14; Ezekiel 20:7).

Many a token of God’s displeasure fell upon them because of this sin.

The first, second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form.

Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code.

The individual offender was devoted to destruction (Exodus 22:20).

His nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment (Deuteronomy 13:20-10), but their hands were to strike the first blow when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned to death (Deuteronomy 17:2-7).

To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity.

An idolatrous nation shared the same fate.

No facts are more strongly declared in the Hebrew [Old] Testament than the vigorous extermination of the Canaanites was the punishment of their idolatry, and the calamities of the Israelites were due to the same cause (Jeremiah 2:17).

“A city guilty of idolatry was looked upon as cancer in the state; it was considered to be in rebellion, and treated according to the laws of war. Its inhabitants and all their cattle were put to death.”

Jehovah was the theocratic King of Israel, the civil Head of the commonwealth, therefore to an Israelite idolatry was a state offense (1 Samuel 15:23), treason.

On taking possession of the land by battle, the Jews were commanded to destroy all traces of every kind of the existing idolatry of the Canaanites.

The history of Israel is clearly outlined in the Bible.

For generation after generation, they repeatedly fell prey to being drawn away from the Lord to serve false gods.

This did not only happen to the common people, but to their kings, priests, and prophets, as well. 

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:4).

The sin of idolatry, or worshiping other gods, is in violation of the Law of God.

As a matter of fact, it breaks the first two of the Ten Commandments.

It is important to remember that disobedience is the original sin and therefore encompasses all sin. 

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Ex. 20:2-4).

I have observed two areas concerning idolatry which I would like to mention:

First how it shows itself in our attitude towards church

Second, how it strains, places pressure upon our understanding of salvation.

1. Our Attitude Towards The Church

Living and worshiping with this culture centered, internet, technology driven idolatrous heart creates a dangerous consumer driven church mentality.  

When it comes to church, often the question is how does this service suit me?

How does the worship make me feel or how does it appease my senses?

Did I find the sermon appealing to my “I need to feel good today” needs?  

Was the message something I felt I wanted to hear?  

In our sinful hearts we have not gotten rid of our idols, we have only Christianized them.  

As I have mentioned earlier in this devotion, John Calvin said that the heart is an “I feel good, I will be good now, I am good” because the sermon said so” idol factory and this truth shows up in the church, moves through the week and the cycle will inevitably be repeated week after week because who expects different.

Keep this in mind, and we learned this in the Garden of Eden from that single conversation between the serpent an Eve: If Satan cannot keep you from your worshipping the true God, then he will do his best to pervert that worship.

One of the greatest perversions of worship is to make it about us.  

This includes those serving in church and those receiving the message.  

When we look at 1 Corinthians 10:31 we see that we are to do all things for the glory of God. It is to lift up God that we worship and serve. When we look at Ephesians 2:10, it shows we were made to do good works not just receive.

Philippians 2:3 states rather succinctly,

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”  

This is clearly seen in Jesus taking on flesh and humbling Himself to the point of death, for the sake of all mankind.  

Jesus demonstrated this so well when, like a slave He washed the feet of the disciples, in John 13.  

In this same chapter, the disciples were arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom, yet Jesus took the role of a servant.  

Even on the Cross our Savior prayed for those that persecuted Him (Luke 23:34) and ministered (Luke 23:43; John 19:26-27).  

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for the many” (Mark 10:45).  

The point is, our idolatry makes church about service to us.

It makes worship about what appeases us the only quality worship we want.

True worship is about what we give to God because He alone is worthy, never about what we can get.  

We are called in love to serve the church, seek to serve, not seek to be served.

2. Strains Our Understanding Of Salvation

Having this idolatrous heart wrongfully makes salvation about us and about our ability to save.  

When I studied world religions, the theme of man earning his own way to God came up time and again.  

Every religion in the world is about man working and earning his salvation.

but in Christianity, we have believing with our whole heart, confessing in God and believing on His Son Jesus Christ as Savior as the way of salvation for man.

In other religions, the followers must come to their God to some how appease, earn favor and therefore still serve themselves because the ultimate recipient is the person doing the appeasing.

Systems like these work well to alleviate guilt over sin.  

We all know we are guilty.

I do not have to prove to you that you have done wrong.

I do not have to prove to anyone that they have sin.

I only have to present the evidence from their own life that condemns them.  

We live in a world full of people falling into religious systems or humanistic self-pleasure systems of worship to alleviate or numb the feelings of guilt.

When salvation is idolatrous it looks to put the power to achieve salvation in man’s hands rather than God’s.  

It will make mankind the end goal, or the highest benefactor of that salvation.

Against this is the reality that God saves us.  

In the Hebrew [Old] Testament when God saved His people, it says in Ezekiel 36:21-23 that He did it for His holy Name’s sake.  

In the New Testament in Acts 15:14, it states that God saved people from among the Gentiles “for His name.” 

Throughout Scripture, God desires to save, but the ultimate reason is for His own glory.

God saves us based upon His own purpose and desire.

In response, we who are saved return to Him a sacrifice of praise.

As His children, we praise Him, we thank Him an we pray to Him in worship for all He is and for all He has done and will do for us. Even though we receive the benefits of salvation, the ultimate purpose is to magnify the great name of God.

But then there is Jesus.

Jesus is the EXACT image of God (Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1)

That’s why he can say,

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

And that’s not about his eyes, ears, hands, or feet. It’s about power.

Because when we see Jesus, we see the Father’s love.

And there is power in that love.

It’s the ­power that saves the world – (John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:7-21).

It’s the power that makes us what we were always meant to be: not idols, but images of our heavenly Father.

2 Corinthians 3:1-6NKJV

Christ’s Epistle

3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the [a]Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We become what we worship. When we worship — or pursue as ultimate — idols, we become powerless, discontent, and disconnected, just like they are.

We become WHO we worship. When we worship – or pursue as ultimate idols, we become powerless, discontent and disconnected, just exactly like they are.

But when we worship Jesus, we are made more and more like him – The way you and I view Jesus determines exactly how you and I will fervently pursue him.

Worship of our Pride and our Selfish Ambition will inevitably melt away before the undeniable greatness of our God who suffered and died and rose again. 

Do we see that as the star of the show, the hero to be praised is Jesus Christ?

When we see this indescribably grand demonstration of God, we can do nothing less than make everything we actually are all about, be about Him and His glory.

Psalm 29New King James Version

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.

29 Give[a] unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 [b]Give unto the Lord the glory [c]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the [d]beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord [e]divides the flames of fire.

8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And the Lord sits as King forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Let us humbly come before God

Let us humbly receive His Living Word to get the full picture of who He is.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord, Mighty in Power, Perfect in Your Love, Perfect Author of my life. You say that I should have faith in You so that I will be upheld. Sometimes I do, an sometimes I fail and put more faith in myself than I know is righteous. Mighty Lord. I desire to place all my faith in You. You strengthen me. Your holy force keeps my spirit alive and burning fiercely for You. I know that with You I can overcome anything. Thank You for remaining faithful to Your chosen people. Thank You for guiding me in my life and helping me to become a vessel for Your will. I pray that I continue to put my faith and trust in You because You know all things. You know what the hearts of Your people need, and I know You will help me through whatever this life brings. Amen.

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