October 28

ISAIAH 46

⁵ “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?
⁶ Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.

⁸ “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,
⁹ remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other;
 I am God, and there is none like me.  – Isaiah 46:5-9

ISAIAH 46 LIFELESS IDOLS & THE LIVING GOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Whenever someone decides to make an idol out of something

They are actually questioning the God who created everything

These people find comfort by having value in their own creation

They have forgotten their true identity which is to praise the living God

These idol-makers become consumed by their abilities and creativity

They have become lifeless as they isolate from God and make their identities

They compare themselves to a God who is divine and the source of life

Without knowing that they are cutting themselves off from life itself

God made all humans into his own image so they could relate to him

These idols are not made to bow down to God since they are dead

No created idols or gods can compare to the Almighty and Living God

It cannot assure anyone or do something about their cries for help.

In this account, the prophet Isaiah speaks out God’s rebuke over the Israelites who have forgotten their covenant with God. God raises a question that is not only for the Israelites to ponder on, but to all those who are believers like us as well: “Who do you compare me to?” Have you ever asked that question to yourself as someone who believes in God? If you are new in the faith, you probably don’t know how to answer that because you haven’t grown in the knowledge of God yet. Just like an infant, you still haven’t made baby steps to desire to know who God is. You are just focused on how you can get your needs met. But because of the aftermath of sin, all humans were thrown into this corrupt world where we lose our identity in Christ. The world system generates a seeking for one’s own identity apart from our Creator.

That’s exactly what the original sin was about: it was to twist our identities into a self-focused one instead of an identity made in the image of God. We carve our own identity instead of cultivating the image that God placed in each human being. Thus, we create things that are a product of our talents and gifts from God. Instead of praising God, we have God-envy which makes us want to prove that we can also be a god. The fall in the garden bent our identities from God-serving to self-serving.

REFLECTION

• Do you compare God to any other gods when you were a new believer? Share insights.

October 25

ISAIAH 42

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called youin righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations,⁷ to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth, I tell you of them.”– Isaiah 42:5-9

ISAIAH 42 GOD’S INTOLERANCE TO IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The Lord God made the heavens and the earth just by his breath alone

He gave his own image to man and claimed him as his own

He elected a few of them at the beginning of time to be his children

He promised to be their God as long as they remain faithful to him

He also vowed to take care of them and instruct them in righteousness

Because he is a loyal God, he expects the same devotion and faithfulness

God cannot tolerate any other idols for he is a very jealous God

He will not give to anyone or anything what only truly belongs to him

God’s wrath will be the consequence of anyone who praises other gods

These idolaters will become lifeless like their gods for the Lord alone gives life.

In this account, the prophet Isaiah speaks out the Lord’s declaration of who he is and a reminder of his covenant with those whom he chose to be his own people. In verse 5, God clearly proclaims his divine nature as the Creator of all things and the giver of life. This is what distinguishes the believer from the unbeliever: the revelation of God’s character and the source of life. Many different religions do not know who made them and what their purpose here on earth is. No other gods can give life to anything or anyone just by speaking life to it. Most counterfeit gods were usually created and carved by human hands or human minds which are not divine like the One true God. The Lord God Almighty has no beginning and no end. God’s religion according to the book of James is not a set of rituals to follow or step by step guide to reach perfection or reach their worshiped god. Christianity is a relationship-based faith and about rituals and rites.  Most religions focus on the effort of man to reach their gods, but Jesus came down in human form to cleanse humans from their sins and have a clean slate with God when they believe in Christ. No pagan deity can speak, make promises and fulfil such promises. They cannot answer prayers because they are lifeless unlike our Lord and Savior. God made it clear to his children that he expects faithfulness from his people and will punish any form of idolatry and worldly worship.

REFLECTION

• How must a true Christian take the truth that God cannot tolerate idols and idolatry?

October 24

HOSEA 11

The more they were called, the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baal sand burning offerings to idols.

³ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms,
 but they did not know that I healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.⁵ They shall notreturn to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
⁶ The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates,

and devour them because of their own counsels.

⁷ My people are bent on turning away from me,

 and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.

                                                                                      – Hosea 11:2-7

HOSEA 11 BENT ON TURNING AWAY FROM GOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When Adam and Eve sinned, shame haunted all humans

We began hiding from the One who made us in his image

We shifted our loyalty from our Creator to ourselves

Instead of acknowledging God, we began making idols

It is now automated for mankind to rebel against God

But in his love, God sent Jesus to free us from sin and shame

We can straighten our bent on turning away from God

We can run to the Lord Jesus to give us a new heart and mind.

It is interesting how these following verses address the human condition of rebellion. God created us for a relationship with him and sin turned that into a defiant bent. Genesis didn’t mention details about how Adam and Eve spent their days with the Lord before the serpent came to tempt them to sin. I would imagine that they were enjoying God’s presence every moment. They weren’t resistant to love. Interestingly, the book of 1 John 4 mentions God is love twice. In that same chapter, John explains the presence of fear which is when love hasn’t been perfected yet. From these revelations of the Lord to John, God clearly tells us that fear is the by-product of sin which makes us turn away from God who is love himself. Shame is the manifestation of that fear, that’s why Adam and Eve hid from God. What was the fear about? It was the fear of punishment or the consequence of the sin they have committed.

Man’s sinful nature is to turn away from God (love) and embrace fear. Humans cannot change the purpose of God for man. He made them for him. Because man began hiding from God, he has to make his own gods so that he can control the shame and live in isolation from God to prove he can be his own.

REFLECTION

• Where can you clearly see this isolation & rebellious bent in man? Cite instances.

October 23

MICAH 5

¹⁰ And in that day, declares the Lord,
    I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots;
¹¹ and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds;
¹² and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
¹³ and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you,
    and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands;
¹⁴ and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities.
¹⁵ And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.

                                                                          – Micah 5:10-15

MICAH 5 IF YOU IDOLIZE THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If the Lord your God made a covenant with you, He must be first

If you love and serve the work of your hands, you have sinned

God is a faithful God and he saved you from your sinfulness

He gave you a new life through his Son’s greatest sacrifice

Why would you pledge allegiance to objects that you have made?

Are you not defying and being unfaithful to the One true God?

Remember that the Lord cuts off anyone who make idols

It doesn’t matter what kind of gods you bow down to

He hates sin and he punishes those who rely on their own minds

He made each person so that they can have a relationship with him

You will be cut off from his presence if you continue to worship idols

It is an insult for the Maker of heaven and earth to be desecrated.

In this account, the prophet Micah addresses the remnants of Israel the promise of a Messiah but the Lord made it very clear that there are conditions that the Israelites need to do in order that they’ll receive the fulfillment of the promise. They can no longer continue to do what those pagan nations influenced them with. In verse 10, the Lord points out the status symbol that those pagans brought in with the horses and chariots. It was a symbol of wealth and power which God didn’t want them to participate in.

Most of the “cut-off” statements in these following verses were addressed to the pagan nations but also a warning for the Israelites regarding how God separates his people from these practices. The theme of this chapter is for the purification of God’s people. They were admonished clearly about the consequences when humans create anything and place it above their relationship and worship for the Lord God. The wrath of God will be what they’ll receive if they follow the ways of those pagan nations who are idolaters.

REFLECTION

• Why do you think there was a focus on the work of man’s hands as the source of idolatry?

October 22

PSALM 115

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

² Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
³ Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
⁶ They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
⁷ They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
⁸ Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

                                                                                      – Psalm 115:1-8

PSALM 115 YOU BECOME YOUR IDOL!

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If you do not acknowledge God and his true character

You will likely make an image that will defy his true nature

If you doubt that God made you in his own image for his glory

You will possibly create an image that will thwart your true purpose

When you twist and change God’s design for your life

You will most likely make idols that negates God’s plan

Then you will have a mind that doesn’t acknowledge your Maker

You will make your own idol and realize that you are exactly like them.

Sources say that the writer of this psalm is unknown but this psalm is a contrast between God’s sovereignty and the foolishness of making idols that counterfeit God’s divinity and eternal character. It is ironic that the purpose of idol-making is to glorify the one who created it when the reality of such creation is to defy God’s existence. They want to be worshiped and adored but it seems that they are actually bowing down to the object they made, which makes them the slave of that idol.

Verses 2-8 illustrates the negation of these pagan nations of the existence of the One true God. They defy God by making idols that resemble God’s greatness so they can have slaves to bow down to it. Paul explains the consequence of these idol-making in Romans 1:24 when he said “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” In this psalm, the writer spells out another result of idolatry: they become lifeless like them. They look like they have mouths but are mute. They have ears but can’t hear. They have hands that can’t feel, noses that can’t smell, feet that can’t walk, throats that can’t make a sound. In other words, they are lifeless objects trying to pretend that they can compete with God Almighty. What futility is this? If you recall the story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9, God confused and dispersed them to destroy their pride in their abilities to make anything. Pride was their idol.

REFLECTION

·       How is pride one of the biggest idols that defy the Lord God Almighty?

October 21

ACTS 17

²⁹ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”³² Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went out from their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. – Acts 17:29-34

ACTS 17 THINGS MADE BY MAN VERSUS GOD’S CREATION

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As a believer, we ought not to compare God to any of our creations

There are no other gods who can bring to life anything out of nothing

Only the Almighty God brings life into whatever he breathes on

Humans cannot bring life into another thing or human being

Even mothers and fathers didn’t create their own children

God wove every part of that baby in their mother’s womb

Nothing we have made out of our own hands truly matter

But each creature God made plays a part in his grand design.

This account in the book of Acts focuses on God’s warning to his people regarding how his children must never compare him to any of the images made by their own hands. The Lord is divine and they are human. God made it clear to them that nothing made by man, no matter how great it is. It must not be given such value because they do not belong in God’s kingdom but in this world.

Because of our sinful nature, we could easily get caught up with the love for the gifts God gave us and begin to place higher importance on such masterpieces instead of praising and thanking the giver of such talents and abilities and glorifying him with God’s generosity.  Before I became a reformed Christian, I was a prolific visual and performing artist. I was a painter, photographer, teacher of Arts and Drama and also a Stage Manager and Stage Actress way back in my country of origin. When I moved to Canada, my plan was to continue making Art and earn money out of it as I did back in the Philippines. But, little did I know that God had a different plan for me. He addressed my trauma which I wasn’t even aware of and at the same time, changed the course of my life. It was after 8 years that I began to see why after putting up exhibits, I only sold probably not even 10 artworks. I thought I could continue the sales of 400 from my painting career back in the Philippines. I was so angry and despite 3000 applications for a job, I never got a decent job to keep me sustained. He gave me a second husband after I was abused by the first one and he provided a venue for me to address my trauma. God moved me to a true Christian church after two false churches and it was God’s word that healed my traumas. He showed me my idols of art.

REFLECTION

• Cite instances how our work or creations can easily become an idol and replace the Lord.

October 20

EXODUS 23

¹⁰ “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.¹² “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.¹³ “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

²⁰ “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. ²¹ Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

²² “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. – Exodus 23:10-13,20-22

EXODUS 23 UTTER NOT OTHER GODS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When the Lord God saved you from your old life

He gave you the ability to be faithful and abide in him

The Son of God laid down his life so you can be free

Do not even utter the names of other gods for it is sin

Pay careful attention to his laws and make sure you obey it

If you rebel, you open doors for the devil to tempt you to sin

Rebellion is witchcraft for it operates in getting what it wants

It creates its own gods that strays you from praising the One true God.

It is interesting how verse 12 mentions to honor the Sabbath as a condition for us not to do what he says in verse 13.  Why do you think God emphasizes in verse 13 that we ought to listen with all ears to what he says and refrain from mentioning the names of other gods? I think that God wants us to know what he loves and what he hates. He gave us his laws as a boundary for us to remember who he is and what he allows us for his people to do. He was clearly defining that he cannot tolerate spiritual adultery and even just the utterance of the names of these pagan gods stirred him to wrath. But he also gave his people a defence against such idolatrous acts when he pointed out to honor the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for us to stop working and doing things so that we will be protected by that day of rest that we ought to honor him with. What is interesting in our world today is that we take the Sabbath as a rest for us to reward ourselves for the hard work we’ve done throughout the week. We treat ourselves to pleasures such as vacations, indulgences in activities and things we love and many don’t even remember that the rest we were given is for us to reflect on thanking and praising God for all that he has done and given us. Pleasure and lust replace worshiping and thanking God. No wonder we fall prey to idolatry because we allowed the devil to twist our worship to God and turned it to worship ourselves.

REFLECTION

• What happens to our bodies, mind and spirit when we don’t honor the Sabbath?