Staying Out of Harms Way

“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him" (Deuteronomy 13:4). Upon entering the promise land the children of Israel faced a powerful foe. That enemy was idolatry, which Moses had strongly cautioned his followers against. Every foreign land has idols and the Canaanites worshiped, among other gods, Baal, he was the favorite god among the Canaanites (the people who lived in the land of Palestine). Some of the Israelites became Baal worshipers, including King Ahab, under the influence of his wicked, Baal worshiping wife, Jezebel. The false god Baal was believed to be the storm god. The farmers looked to Baal to give them success in growing crops. They believed he controlled the weather. When the children of Israel moved into the promised land, they lived among the Canaanites, and some became Baal worshipers. In a conversation over the back fence, a Canaanite might have advised his Israelite neighbor "You had better offer sacrifices to Baal, or your seed might be bad or you might not get rain this season." There is never a good time to listen to the counsel of the ungodly. The problem with idol worship is the glory that belongs to the Lord is given to a false god. Who is the One who is really in charge of the rain, seed germination and storms? The true and living God is in charge and He must receive the credit due Him. Because God is sovereign over all His creation and He is in absolute control, all glory goes to the Almighty. Moses also cautions against the idolatry that could rise among themselves. That is why we need to be well acquainted with the truths and precepts of the Scriptures. For we can expect to be tested by temptations of evil that come under the appearance of good, and we will face error that comes in the guise of truth. God's Word will equip us with the discernment needed to rightly oppose such temptations. One way we demonstrate our love for the Lord is by rejecting that which is false and pretentious and clinging to that which is true and right. We are not only to reject the temptation but we are not even to give the temptation a hearing. We must plug our ears and reject such details with disdain. We may even have to utter "Get behind me Satan." Some temptation is so vile that we are not to debate about it or allow our minds to ponder it. Keeping out of harms way works best when we are walking with the Lord. That is why we are to "Hold fast to the Lord." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Christian and Idols

"All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping (the idol) there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family" (Judges 8:27). Gideon was mightily used of God to defeat the Midianites in battle. The Midianites were oppressing Israel and God choose Gideon to lead the army against them. You will most likely remember the 30,000men being too large a number to fight against the 120,000 soldiers of of Midianites. God whittled the number down to 300, then with each man went into battle carrying a jar, a trumpet and a torch. At the given time they broke the jar, blew the horn and held up the lit torch. God used this to bring confusion to the Midianite army, they turned on each other, and Israel won the battle. If the story had ended there, all would have been well. But at the moment of Israel's triumph, Gideon stumbled. We are often most vulnerable at the moment of victory. He told the people, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." The Israelites took the gold from the bodies of the enemy dead and Gideon melted it and fashioned it into an idol. The Bible calls this idol an ephod, a word that refers to a ceremonial breastplate? Gideon probably depicted the Lord God as a warrior with an ephod of gold. But God does not allow Himself to be represented by an idol. Aaron made the same mistake when Moses was on the mountain, He melted down the gold brought out of Egypt and made a calf from it. The idea was God could come down and ride on the calf. This act brought the wrath of God down upon His people. They ground up the calf and were made to drink the power made thereby. This idol, made under Gideons direction, was an offense against God and a trap for the people. After Gideon's death, the Israelites again worshiped the pagan god Baal. They forgot the Lord God who rescued them from their enemies. Do you have an idol in your life? An idol can be anything that takes the place of God. Could be a possession, a position, a person, a false god, or yourself. Please ask the Lord to show you anything that takes His place in your life, then get rid of it. If you don't rid yourself of idols they will become a stumbling block to you and your children. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Self Promotion

The Scriptures are quite explicit concerning self promotion. "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, someone else, and not your own lips." Prov. 27;2. We inherited from Adam the desire to promote ourselves. The consequences of self promotion is getting ahead of God's desire for our lives. Public recognition may be part of God's will for our lives, however when it comes through self promotion we will suffer the consequences. Promotion is to come from the Lord and not from ourselves. Many a "Self made Man" ends up worshiping his creator. King David never promoted himself. He did fall into sin more than once in his life, but he would always repent and turn back to the Lord. His life was marked by an absence of idols. Self promotion and self worship go hand in hand. When one worships self, that person has become an idol worshipers. When we worship the Lord and Him only we will be empowered by the one "...Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us." Eph. 3:20. Who are you worshiping (promoting) today?