Who do you serve?

 

hopefully you know the difference…

2 Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. ~1 samuel 7:2-4~

while i may not serve other ‘gods’ of other religions, i do recognize that it doesn’t necessarily have to be from a belief in some deity, it simply could be something i’m fixated on - money, job, hobby, etc. anything that becomes an idol in my life. in essence, any form of worship or desire other than God can become an idol.

a few verses to learn and keep as a reminder:

They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.” ~2 kings 17:12~

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. ~exodus 20:3-4~

“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. ~leviticus 19:4~

Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. ~deuteronomy 12:3~

from what you can gather through these passages is that even as far back as the old testament goes, people - believers and non-believers, alike, had a problem in this area. taking up false gods or turning to idols for worship. what’s bizarre, though i suppose not all that strange, is that those who knew “the mosaic law”, those passed down in the first 5 books of The Bible, didn’t always follow it when they followed other so-called ‘gods’. sometimes it was from neighboring people, another time they made their own; either way their heart was not fully committed to The Lord God Almighty.

in the same way we are taught and warned in The New Testament the following:

  1. they traded the truth about God for a lie. so they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ~romans 1:25~

  2. their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. ~philippians 3:19~

  3. nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty–but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. ~revelation 21:27~

it’s one thing if this topic was only brought up once throughout The Bible, but it is mentioned several times from the beginning to the end which means it is critically important to pay attention to this matter. it truly is a matter of life or death for those who believe and does something about it.

it is a constant work-in-progress to not let anything become an idol, to worship some fake ‘god’ or inanimate object, and to not desire “stuff of this world” over God and our Lord and King Jesus. when my mind seems to be heading off the road, i pray asking for help leading me back on the right and the true path; without it i tend to become lost. reminder to stay in The Word, in Prayer, to be connected to others who will help me in my walk and not lead me towards a different direction.

dear Heavenly Father, please help my family and i never to have ‘other gods’ in our lives. i want us to trust you implicitly, with our hope and faith in you alone Lord. may our focus and desires be with and in you Jesus. we love yo so very much. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!