Category Archives: Idols / False Gods

Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Idols / False Gods, Wickedness / Evil

Israel Turns From YHWH

We are always one generation away from potentially turning our backs on YHWH and going our own way. One generation away from mixing and mingling his ways with the ways of other gods or traditions of men. Who and how we teach and raise our children matters. Even if we have experienced the power of YHWH first hand, the next generation may go another way if not raised right. Of course, prayer on their behalf to follow YHWH’s ways and also for him to provide strong leaders that would guide the people is helpful.

We should seek to understand YHWH’s ways ever more clearly through study and prayer. We should not compromise in accepting things which we can identify are contrary to his teaching, but should address them.

We see in Joshua 2 that Joshua dies and he is acknowledged by all those who have experienced YHWH’s miracles in delivering the promised land, but then the next generation begins to mix and mingle with the people whom the Israelites failed to drive out of the land. If they would have obeyed in the first place, theses people would not even have been there to corrupt their children.

Joshua 2:6-23

Joshua Dies

      6When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 8Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves Baals

      11Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, 12and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. 13So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

      16Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do as their fathers. 18When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, 21I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” 23So the LORD allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Prayer, Seeking God, Teachable

Shun Idolatry; Seek Out And Obey The Instructions of YHWH

The LORD has told us in advance that there will be false prophets that perform signs, but will propose chasing new and different doctrine that YHWH Himself told us to follow and is recorded in the Bible. He told us to reject such people as false prophets who are leading rebellion against Him.

We are called to test everything against the commandments of YHWH. We are not to simply follow anyone who can seemingly perform a miracle or sign, though it may seem compelling. This is perhaps where people end up following false teaching and false religions.

Ironically this is also where many Jewish people struggle in accepting Christ. Don’t misunderstand, it is not because Christ taught a different doctrine… He certainly did not. However, when one encounters most or nearly all Christian churches, one finds that the doctrine and commands they teach do not line up with the commands of YHWH as given to Moses. Much has been discarded as “Jewish” that should have been kept as “God’s commands”. Many claim that much of God’s instruction is obsolete. They pick and choose which commands to follow (e.g. they say adultery is still bad, but sabbath is no longer called for or “the Old Testament  is obsolete, but you still need to give a tithe”).

We are to shun idolatry. We are to shun anything that would take the primary  place in our hearts which was created for YHWH. We are to shun anything that teaches us to discard YHWH’s commands and instructions. For most today, that means we are to make serious changes.

Deuteronomy 13

Shun Idolatry

      1“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.4“You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5“But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

      6“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 9“But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10“So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11“Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

      12“If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword.16“Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the LORDyour God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17“Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the LORD may turn from His burning anger and show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and make you increase, just as He has sworn to your fathers, 18if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Pray for insight and clarity from the Spirit. Open yourself to listen to Him, even if He calls you to change. Odds are if you are growing up in culture today, even if you are in a church, you are not following all of YHWH’s commandments. It is not about “salvation”. That is received by grace through faith in Christ. Obedience is the fruit of our salvation, not the root of our salvation. Seeking to understand God’s instructions instead of being complacent “as we are” or “as we are told is acceptable” is a sign of love. Study the Bible. Really study it. Pray for discernment. Be ready and willing to make even emotionally difficult changes. If you choose to hold tight to something other than what God calls for us to do, then that is rebellion and idolatry. You are putting something else in a higher priority than obedience to Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I on the path?, Anger (unrighteous anger), Compassion, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Greed, Holy / Set Apart, How do I get started?, Humility, Idols / False Gods, Kindness / Gentleness, Lying / Deceiving, Peace / Rest, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Righteousness / Serving God, Sin, Thankfulness, Tongue / Gossip / Slander, Wickedness / Evil

Put On The New Self; Do Not Remain The Same

When we become disciples of Christ, we are not to remain the same as we were before and simply “add Jesus” on top of everything else we were already doing. There are behaviors and thought patterns which we must die to and others we must pursue. With God’s help, we become more like Him and less like our old selves… but we have to choose to pursue righteousness and reject sinfulness. He will not simply force it on us because we said His name once. This transformation is typically a journey, not typically like turning on a light switch. It is like cooking in a crock pot rather than a microwave. It takes longer, but it tastes so much better when it is done.

Colossians 3:1-17

Put On the New Self

      1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

      5Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.6For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

      12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Take time to reflect on your life. Ask the Spirit to give you insight specific to you. Are you living according to the description above? If not, ask forgiveness from God and ask God for help. Renew you commitment to live for Him and seek repentance… seek to change yourself to be more like our Lord.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Worldliness

Blending With False Religions Is Not A Virtue

The message I am about to share will be upsetting to many and many will speak against it. Many are influenced by our worldly culture and not clear on what YHWH has actually said.

YHWH is not tolerant and accepting of the worship of other gods. He does not tolerate us worshiping Him according to our own ways, but rather according to the ways He determines. He does not want us to simply worship Him with offerings associated with the holy places or practices of false religions. He does not want us to blend with other worship practices. He wants us to be pure and focused on Him and His ways.  We are to do as He commands, not as we desire or what is easiest for us.

Deuteronomy 12:1-14

Laws of the Sanctuary

      1“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3“You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. 4“You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God. 5“But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6“There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7“There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

      8“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10“When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the LORD. 12“And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

      13“Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

      15“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. 16“Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17“You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. 18“But you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your undertakings. 19“Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

      20“When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire. 21“If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. 22“Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23“Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24“You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25“You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26“Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27“And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

      28“Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

      29“When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,30beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31“You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

      32“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

Let us take seriously YHWH’s instruction for us to worship Him according to His ways and in His places. Let us not blend with and accept other beliefs. Remain set apart and holy for His purposes.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hearing from God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Idols / False Gods, Marriage, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Righteous, Through Prophets, Worldliness

Tolerance of Sin Is Not A Virtue

YHWH does not consider tolerance of worship of false gods to be a virtue. This may come as quite a hard message for many who are desensitized by worldly influences which constantly preach tolerance of all types of sin as if it is a virtue.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6

     1“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5“But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

YHWH inherently recognizes and warns His people not to intermarry and not to accept their false gods and worship practices. He instructs His people to tear down even their altars and pillars and idols.

Why?

Because these things are dedicated to sinful worship of false gods. Their continued existence, certainly with intermarriage, will draw some of YHWH’s people away from Him into false worship of worthless things. It separates YHWH from His people.

The same is still true today. Tolerating sin generally, and tolerating the worship of false religions or gods specifically, is not a virtue, but rather a trap. It separates YHWH from His people and leads to destruction for those individuals. We do not help them by tolerating and accepting their false beliefs and idols. We certainly don’t help those that are to come later by leaving all the pagan temples and idols around for them to consider in the future.

YHWH instructed His people rather directly and boldly to be set apart from these things and maintain a very important separation from those things which would in turn separate YHWH from His people. He did so for their benefit, not His. We should apply this principle still today with vigilance.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Idols / False Gods, Justice / Judgment, Love, Obeying God, Righteousness / Serving God, Sin

You Shall Love the Lord Your God With All Your Heart

The ten commandments do not represent the sum total of God’s law or instruction for His people. However. He saw fit to focus on these 10 as He addressed the people. Much more detail was shared with the people through Moses and is available for us to study and learn in scripture. The point is, that learning and obeying these 10 commandments is not sufficient but it is a good place to start.

Some immediately want to say that this is out of date, “Didn’t Jesus say to love God and love others was all we need to do?”

Matthew 22:34-40

     34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Context is important. This is not a new commandment replacing the others. Jesus lived obeying the law of Moses and quoting from it in His teaching. He explicitly said He did not come to change the law.

Matthew 5:17-19

      17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus is essentially saying is that He can summarize God’s instruction down to loving God and loving one another. However, we don’t get to define what that means on our terms. All too often people today define that as accepting sin and encouraging people that they do not have to repent of sin to be in right relationship with God. God already defined what it means to love God and love one another. As a starting point, we can use the 10 commandments. The first four are about our relationship with God and the next 6 are about our relationship with each other. This is not an all inclusive list, but it is a good place to start and to a health check on our relationship with God and others. We focus today on our relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 5:6-15 (the first four commandments)

      6‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

      7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

      8‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 9‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

      11‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

      12‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your Go

You shall have no other gods before Him. This is not just limited to pagan worship of false gods. This includes also anything we put our primary loyalty or devotion to instead of God. The best way to measure that is looking at how you spend your time, money, and talent. Love of money is common. Career or power/prestige. Even something as simple as sports can take the place in your heart and life where God should be. Even a relationship with a spouse or children should not replace God as your primary focus. Don’t assume you are putting God first. Prove it to yourself. Where is the evidence, or fruit of Him being first in your life? Complacency is an enabler on the path to hell and separation with God. We should be pursuing a relationship with God like we pursued with our spouse while we were dating with intent to marry. We wanted to be with them, know them, learn about what is important to them. Do we do this with God?

You shall not make an idol to worship. Do not make even a graven image of God to worship. Worship God Himself. It is too easy for us as people to get focused on the image instead of God. This makes Him angry. He makes a point here to say how He shows “lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Loving God and obeying His commandments go together. If you love Him, you obey Him. If you refuse to obey Him, you do not love Him, despite what your feelings tell you. You could say you love your spouse, but do you really if you ignore their desires and wants or even reject them directly? God promises to show lovingkindness to those who obey Him, not to those who don’t. We are not worthy of His love and He does not owe it to us just for existing. That is not how love really works.

You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. This includes not misusing His name. Today it is shameful that people who may claim to follow Christ use the words we use to refer to “Jesus” and “God” as if they are curse words to be uttered carelessly. I recognize these are not the actual names of God but that is not the point. This extends to also how we talk about God. How we talk about someone, their reputation, also reflects on their “name”.  Someone may have a “good name” or a “bad name” based on reputation. All too often many who claim to follow Christ speak poorly of our Lord or change what it is the Bible documents from what He taught and what He followed (e.g. Old Testament). People frequently blame God when something goes wrong but give Him no credit when things go well. We are called to rejoice always… to trust Him when things are tough and when things are going well. Our complaints and blaming of God reflects more our sour heart than any failing on God’s part.

Observe the Sabbath day. God set one day apart in seven. He set apart by the Hebrew calendar what we now consider Fri at sunset until Sat at sunset.  This is the seventh day of the week and it is to be holy, set aside even during harvest and busy times when we have seemingly important stuff to do. There are other Sabbath’s also associated with the holy days God instructs us to obey as well. All too often today, Sabbath is completely ignored. (I am not focused in this discussion on those who celebrate Sabbath on Sundays vs. Saturdays. Their hearts are obedient toward God in seeking to obey Sabbath.)

Don’t just assume you are doing everything well. Consider this a health check on your relationship with God. Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Most of us would admit we have further to go to live up to this standard… and we need God’s help to get there. Ask for Him to help you love Him more. Then look to understand more about how to demonstrate love for God through your decisions and attitudes of submission and obedience to Him.

Continue with related article, You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself, focused on the last 6 of the 10 commandments.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Contentment, Discerning / Judging, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Humility, Idols / False Gods, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prayer, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

He Gives Us Over To The Stubbornness Of Our Hearts

Psalm 81 was written about God’s goodness and Israel’s waywardness… or behavior of going astray from God and pursuing ungodly things. God established Israel and provided for them through many mighty deeds and yet they continued to stray from Him to chase false gods and selfish pursuits. A Psalm like this one could very easily be written about the USA with a few minor changes to the historical references such as “coming out of Egypt”. Jehovah blessed our Christian nation at its birth and yet we as a nation continue to stray from God.

As a result of our rejection of Him as a nation, He gives us over to the stubbornness of our hearts and we now walk in our own devices… an immoral society overrun by sin which is normalized throughout the land. Many gods are worshipped… money, sex, power, sports, status, and perhaps most of all self. Coveting is the national pastime for many, always lusting after what others have rather than finding contentment with what God has provided.

Psalm 81

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.

     1Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

      2Raise a song, strike the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.

      3Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day.

      4For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

      5He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a language that I did not know:

      6“I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket.

      7“You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah.

      8“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

      9“Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

      10“I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

      11“But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.

      12“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.

      13“Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!

      14“I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.

      15“Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.

      16“But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Pray for revival personally, in your family, in your local church, in your state, in the nation and across the world. Live out the revival in your daily life. Pray, study, spend time with our Lord. Ask for His guidance in your life and be prepared to give up your desires and your plans in favor of His. You may well find that what you desire was never really yours to begin with but only that which our culture indoctrinated you to pursue. What He wants for us is much better.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Government, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God

I Pledge Allegiance…To Whom or What?

Some recent events have brought forth a lot of discussion and passionate responses in regards to who “must” or “should” stand during the national anthem and pledge allegiance to the flag of the USA. One thing is for sure in the internet age… everyone has an opinion and wants to shout it out, or type it out.

I think having a cultural debate on the importance of individual liberty as it applies in this situation is fine and can be good. Discussing and understanding opposing viewpoints is healthy. Sadly many just “shout down” the opposing viewpoint rather than conducting a civil and respectful debate. Anyone who disagrees is automatically wrong and to be despised as hateful or ignorant. This is not effective in winning anyone over to whatever side you are on. The issue is actually more complex than it may appear, at least to some.

There is clearly a strong cultural norm and reinforced teaching for generations that trains / teaches / indoctrinates people to stand for the anthem, put their hand over their heart and recite the pledge. Most of us probably know it by heart. For many it is almost instinct and they can’t imaging not doing it, but they never really choose to do it in the first place. It was just expected and forced throughout our schooling growing up and is not to be questioned. Let us take care to carefully consider those things about which people demand there can be no question and no debate.

There are a great variety of opinions and considerations that really have nothing to do with the specifics of the protests that recently started this cultural discussion. What does the flag mean to different people? what about the anthem? What does it mean in reference to respect for veterans and military? What about individual liberty to decide to stand or not stand, rather than being compelled to stand. If someone is compelled to stand, does that make them have more or less love for the nation?

Personally, I greatly appreciate my country. The USA is the best country in the world to live in because of individual liberty. It was even better when it functioned in the past more in line with the actual constitutionally defined government which limited the role of the federal government and maximized individual liberty and the liberty of the states to govern themselves.

Today, Christians may be persecuted. Small business owners may be sued for standing up for their Biblical beliefs. One prominent example is the baker who was sued for refusing to bake wedding cakes for homosexuals… though he offered them any other product they would want from his business. Should he be forced to do so because it offends someone else? This same question can be applied to standing for the pledge or anthem. Should individuals be compelled to stand so as not to offend someone else?

If it is a private business, then the owner gets to decide as terms of employment. However, people should take care when they respond with such hostility to someone who disagrees with them. There will often be times when a Christian disagrees with what culture demands and we would appreciate and greatly value a society that allows us our individual liberty to live according to God’s word and not cultural demands.

Again, I have great respect for the USA. But let us think carefully before we demand blind allegiance at all costs to a flag or anthem.  Propaganda and brainwashing work on these same principles (e.g. Rome under the emperors who considered themselves divine, communist Russia, Hitler’s Germany, etc.) It usually works best when people put the nation in a high position of unquestioned allegiance. In truth, by their actions, they put the nation above God in importance. This is why dictatorships and communism often try to suppress or control religion… so there is nothing more important than allegiance to the nation.

A pledge or promise, if it is to be meaningful at all, is a serious thing. It is not to be taken lightly.  If you consider this just a polite tradition, then it really does not mean much anyway. We should not just make pledges out of habit or without understanding the full ramifications of fulfilling that pledge. Why should we pledge allegiance to a “flag” or “nation under God”? Why not pledge allegiance directly to God Himself and then run our country as if we mean it? This would keep the focus on God Himself, as was the intent at our country’s founding.

A simple question to consider… Whom do you serve? You can not have two masters or you will love one and hate the other.

Matthew 6:24

 24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. To the extent our nation does the same we will be among the most ardent supporters. I will respect and appreciate my country even as it deviates from this norm, but I can not give blind allegiance to the nation if I am to submit fully to Christ. I must challenge our nation when it deviates from God’s instructions.

I hope you take time to prayerfully and thoughtfully reflect on the subject at hand, which in truth is not simply respect for nation or veterans, but also respect for the individual liberty for which they fought and died that help to keep our nation great and provides us the opportunity to freely worship our Lord according to our individual belief rather than what is popular or demanded by culture.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Abortion, Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Fortune Telling, Grace / Forgiveness, Heaven and Hell, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Homosexual Behavior, Hope, Idols / False Gods, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Self Control, Selfishness, Sorcery, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Immoral Behavior Is Offensive To God and It Is Wrong For Everyone

Jehovah could not make it much more clear… He wants us to follow His statutes and not those of the pagans who reject Him. We are not to blend in in this world. He takes sin very seriously. There is absolute right and wrong and many in this world are doing wrong. He does not promise us His blessing regardless of our behavior. He does lay out clear consequences and accountability for those who choose to sin, to live outside of His statutes and guidance. Jehovah has not changed His mind on what He approves of since Leviticus. He is unchanging in His character.

Leviticus 20

On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“You shall also say to the sons of Israel:
‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3‘I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name. 4‘If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

      6‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7‘You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8‘You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

      9‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.

      10‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11‘If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 12‘If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 13‘If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 14‘If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst. 15‘If there is a man who lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. 16‘If there is a woman who approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

      17‘If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. 18‘If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19‘You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his blood relative; they will bear their guilt. 20‘If there is a man who lies with his uncle’s wife he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. 21‘If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.

      22‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. 23‘Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. 24‘Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25‘You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. 26‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.

      27‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.’”

There is quite a list of immorality and rebellion identified in this scripture. Our Father is trying to be very clear about these sins. They are unacceptable. No excuses. No rationalizing. He has not changed His mind about these things being wrong. Take care in reflecting on these. Just because it is no longer common that someone may be sacrificing their child to Molech does not mean this is an obsolete passage. People today sacrifice their unborn children through abortion essentially to the god of self. For their own selfish desires they kill their unborn children rather than care for the children and raise them, taking accountability for past mistakes and showing respect for life. Globally there are over 40 million abortions a year. By the numbers, it is a much greater horror than any singular event in history, even the Hollocaust which was gruesome and killed 6 million. God is not pleased with sacrificing children through abortion any more than He was in killing them before Molech.

I do not believe that we are still commanded to execute those specific punishments, in light of Christ’s death and resurrection for our sins. But we are called to rebuke wrong behavior and call evil what it is and good what it is. We should not call what is evil good and what is good evil, as so many do today in our society. We should have laws against most of these behaviors, though some should need no laws, because our laws should reflect our Christian values. There should be punishments for these crimes to help discourage others from embracing sin and harming themselves and others.  Some should be laws, some should be active engagement from the Christian society to rebuke offenders (in love) so that they should repent. We should not cheerfully embrace offenders of these laws as if what they do is acceptable before God.

We can also bring forth the good news of forgiveness that is offered through Christ to those in sin. Jesus Christ died for our sins. We need to admit we are sinners who can not save themselves and accept His offer of forgiveness through grace by faith. Turn from our sinful behavior. Ask forgiveness from the Father. Turn toward the Father’s ways and ask for His help through the Spirit.

Take time to read the list thoroughly. Some of the sin covered here are rejected widely by society for now, but others have already been deemed acceptable and “good” by the world. Given a chance, the world will continue to redefine all of these sinful behaviors to caste them as “good” and caste those who rightly denounce them as “intolerant” and “cruel”.  We must repent personally, pray for God’s help for our nation and local government and the people, and stand against what is evil boldly by confronting it in our communities, churches, and influencing our legal system by actively engaging as a voters or in public office as followers of Christ.  We should never separate church and state. That is just an excuse to open the door for evil to prosper and it was never the intent of our founding fathers of the USA and is certainly not Jehovah’s desire. The founding fathers embraced Christian values and principles and teaching and integrated it into all aspects of the government they created (but that is a topic for another day).

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Demons, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable

His Way, Not Our Own

Much of Leviticus serves to remind us to seek to understand and follow God’s ways rather than each make our own way. God laid out for His people specific guidance for them to follow.

People at the time were struggling with the freedom God had previously allowed them in regards to making their own alters and conducting their own sacrifices as Abraham had done and Jacob. With this freedom came a tendency toward idolatry or sacrifices to demons. God now instructs His people to bring the sacrifices to His tabernacle. This is a firm reminder to them which God is Lord. There is only one, and He is called Jehovah or Yahweh.

Jehovah also had previously instructed the people not to eat the blood of the animals. Whether or not we understand fully, we should obey. The blood was intended to be set apart for atonement, not to be consumed. It represents the life of the animal.

Some may ask, “what does this mean for me today?” A fair question to be sure. Let us be reminded to seek to understand and obey the ways of Jehovah. Let us follow His ways rather than our own. Take care not to stray toward idolatry and worship of things other than our Lord and Creator or to stray in our obedience to Him.

Leviticus 17

Blood for Atonement

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD has commanded, saying, 3“Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, 4and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5“The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6“The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the LORD. 7“They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’

      8“Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

      10‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ 12“Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’ 13“So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

      14“For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15“When any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. 16“But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

Focus on and obey the ways of our Lord. For those parts we don’t fully understand… pray and study the Bible to learn and gain godly wisdom. Do not just ignore something because it does not make sense to you. Instead seek to understand. Ask Him to reveal it to you and do not be slothful in your study of the Word. Be encouraged as well… in that we don’t have to be perfect. We do not seek reconciliation and salvation by our works, but rather by faith, through grace in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But if we love Him, we will seek to understand His instruction and obey Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.