Knowing God Post 9

Isaiah 45:21-22

“Declare and set forth your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has announced this from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

    Many years ago, my family was looking for a new home.  We spent way too many mornings following the real estate agent around town looking at a variety of homes.  One morning we were ushered into a home that had much that we liked, but I only really remember one thing.  In the corner of the living room was a shrine with an offering of fruit before it.  The owners of that home were very literally idol worshipers.  In America I had never seen that.

    In reflection on that day and God used that to open my eyes to a truth that I too often have missed, idol worship is everywhere.  I look around and notice that we are totally surrounded by other gods.  When hurt comes, who or what do you turn to?  Is your first response the medicine cabinet, or the liquor cabinet, or even the fridge?  Do we turn to relationships or some other substance.  That is your god.

   But our God is our only long-range hope.  Jesus warned us that in this life we would have trouble.  That means we will feel pain, discomfort, and challenge.  When we turn to idols we often discover that they do have a short term feeling of relief.  When I lived a life steeped in sin, guilt would penetrate my hard heart.  In those moments I would turn to the God of alcohol or drugs and for a moment I would not feel that pain.  The sad truth is that the pain ALWAYS came back.  The idol was only masking the pain.  In order for the pain to be relieved I needed surgery.  In the case of Spiritual issues, I needed and need a savior.

    The enemy will work to convince us that we are one pill, one drink or one election from a life of peaceful bliss.  I challenge them to make a case.  Can anything or anyone apart from God bring complete healing and hope to this world?  In all of their solutions I challenge them to guarantee there are no side effects.  Have you paid any attention to the Big Pharma ads?  Often the side effects are worse than what they are supposed to heal.  Oh, think about this, why are they spending millions of dollars to convince you to buy something that you cannot buy without going to a doctor for a prescription?  Also note that as of this writing there are only 2 countries that allow Big Pharma to advertise outside of professional medical publications.

    Look at alcohol commercials, they never show the men and women that I see coming to the Gospel Rescue Mission, beat up, jobless, painfully alone and feeling hopeless.

    Every election means the world will collapse if the other party is elected.  Eventually they will be right but not every time.

   Whare do you place your allegiance.  Isaiah looked forward in time and heard from God.  He called us to seek the true God that brings hope, peace and salvation.  My eyes look to the one that died on the cross, rose from the dead and is coming back again.  There is no god but our God.  My allegiance is with Jesus.