Thought of the Day !!

To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, "You are my father." To an idol chiseled out of stone they say, "You are my mother." They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out for me to save them! Why don't you call on these gods you have made? When danger comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are cities and towns in Judah.
Jeremiah 2:26-28

God was telling Jeremiah what to say to the Israelites who had turned to other gods to worship. They were checking out what other nations were doing and worshiping. And they evidently liked what they saw. So images of Baal were everywhere being worshiped. And true faith in the LORD their God was diminishing. As a matter of fact, this faith was only exhibited when the people were in trouble.

Does any of this sound familiar? Are there any other gods that we worship today? Does God only hear from us when we need something?

As you think about these questions understand that our gods may not be graven images of wood or stone as the Israelites had. But that doesn't mean that there are no other "gods" to worship today. Many come to the altars of capitalism, commercialism or secularism. People all across America have decided to replace their worship of God with the worship of the "almighty dollar". People worship the gods that we call athletes, super-models, actors and actresses, the rich and the famous.

Even good things can become the gods that we worship if we're not careful. Don't let the great gifts that you've been blessed with such as family or abilities become more important to you than the one who blessed you with them.

The Israelites turned their backs on God because something else peaked their interests. But they wanted to have the best of both worlds. They wanted to do as they wished whenever they wished, only turning back to God when they got themselves in trouble. This sounds like selfish children. And this does sound familiar.

Don't let anything come before you and your relationship with God through Jesus. Find ways of showing God that He's what's truly important in your life. And in doing so, your life will be much better. For no other god that we find in this world will ever be as fulfilling as the one we were created to worship.

In the love of Christ,
greg