Tuesday February 18, 2014

Coming Up Sonday Feb 23

If God is One, He Can’t Be Three!

 Read Deuteronomy 5:1-10, 6:1-5

Israel was fiercely monotheistic which means that she worshipped and recognized only one God. The word ‘monotheistic’ comes from two words - mono meaning one and theos meaning God. Hence she worshipped only one God. Today we have many people who believe in a god but are happy to concede that other gods may exist and may be worshipped by others. Not so in Israel!!!

As the 10 commandments clearly show, no other gods were permitted. No statues, no idols and no representations of gods were allowed. The Lord summed it up clearly in Isaiah 45:5

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God…

The punishment for crafting a god and worshipping that god was death without mercy!

Unfortunately, Israel entered a land that was filled with false deities. These people had baals for every conceivable situation and often sacrificed their children to these gods. The temptation was constantly there for Israel to turn to Baal the storm god, for example, when rains held off. Human nature is such that if we  are able to contribute and make an offering to proffer what we want/need, we will generally give into temptation.

Israel did give into temptation. The nation bowed down to statues and idols of foreign gods. They called up false deities to rescue them, to provide for them and to help them through tough times. God, the one true living God, was all but forgotten. For such rebellion and idolatry God smote Israel and exiled her from the Promised Land. The land flowing with milk and honey became a wasteland because the people rejected the one true living God and worshipped false gods.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Pray that your church would worship only God and not give into temptation to worship people, things or even money.

ª Pray that the worship of your church would be acceptable and would continue in each believer throughout the week. Pray that worship would be a natural way of life for each person in your congregation.

 Worship Moment –  God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we pray, we need to be careful who we are praying to and what we are praying. We need to make sure that our prayers and adorations are biblically sound. God the Father, for example, didn’t die on the cross.  God the Spirit wasn’t born of the virgin Mary.  Get the picture?