Psalms for today 5, 35, 65, 95, 125
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hands are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.--Psalm 95:1-7
Isaiah 46:1-7
This passage is all about some false "gods" that Israel allowed their neighbors to insert into their culture. "Gods" that were nothing more than hunks of wood carved into random shapes. I especially like verse 5-7: "So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?
Can you picture me without reducing me?
People with a lot of money hire craftsmen to make them gods.
The artisan delivers the god, and the kneel and worship it!
They carry it around in holy parades, then take it home and put in on a shelf.
And there it sits, day in and day out,
a dependable god, always right where you put it.
Say anything you want to it, it never talks back.
Of course, it never does anything either!"
"A dependable god...always right where you put it."
I think this may be why a lot of people are uncomfortable with the one true God. He doesn't stay put. You can't put him one shelf; he won't stay there. Plus he will talk back to you. He is constantly correcting us, telling us where we are wrong. Nobody likes to be told they're wrong!
Can you see the sarcasm in the passage? I love it. How can we compare an "indescribable" God to a hunk of wood or stone, shaped like some animal that eats grass? Or shaped like some creepy artist's depiction of a perverted human face?
We may not have stone or wood statues that we worship today, but even the modern church is susceptible to the seduction of false gods. How about the "god" of media advertising? Clever slogans and catch-phrases to try to draw people to their church? Surveys done by the "all-powerful" George Barna (I swear, I'm so tired of hearing that name), who is obviously an "expert" on everything the church is doing wrong? Hint: go back and read the quote from Tabletalk above. Better yet, let God's Word speak for itself: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16) What is the power? THE GOSPEL! Not our clever, manipulative techniques or advertising schemes.
Individually, many of us get caught up in false gods, as well. Myself, I can't think of any that I trust in for anything...but before you think I'm declaring myself all righteous, I'll confess that I am distracted by plenty of things. Perhaps the only false "god" in my life is me. But I don't really trust myself, either. I just don't follow God as closely as I should. I'm guilty of allowing the many modern techological wonders distract me. I'm even doing my devotional on the computer, see?
Nothing wrong with that, but it does cause more distraction sometimes than it does good.
Grace and peace, friends.