Which God Do You Worship? No. 391
WHICH GOD DO YOU WORSHIP?
Part 1
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts"
(Isaiah 55:8, 9)
You know which is No. 1 of the Ten Commandments, don't you? "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). We become exasperated when reading about the children of Israel who continually turned away from the true God to worship idols and false gods. And yet we forget that we are guilty of the same sin ourselves.
An idol is not only an image made of stone, silver, or gold. It is anything we worship instead of God. We think we are worshipping God and yet often we are worshipping a false god of our own imagination. This is an easy deception we can get into and is prevalent in the church today. We put the God of the universe in our own little box. We expect Him to believe what we believe. We want Him to fit in with our lifestyle. We want to manage the Sovereign LORD of Heaven and earth.
God says to us in Psalm 50:21 (ESV): "You thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you."
Satan, who is a robber, wants to rob us of the true revelation of God for our understanding and revelation of God affects how we think and act. More than that, it affects our children, grandchildren, and future generations. Our personal revelation of God is what we pass on to our children and future generations.
There are many areas of our lives where we worship a false god without realizing it. Let's look at some examples.
1. GOD'S PLANS HAVE CHANGED SINCE HE CREATED MAN
In this day of deception we must know God's original plans and live by them. There is no other alternative. Alternatives are "out" in God's plan. He has created one way and only way works. When God created man in the beginning He did not create two of the same sex, but two who were different--a male and a female. Let's look again at Gods plan from the beginning.
Male (zakar) / female (nqebah) Notice that the two Hebrew words are totally different (Genesis 1: 27).
Man / woman (Genesis 2:23).
Father / mother Genesis 2:24).
Husband / wife (Genesis 2:25; Proverbs 12:4; 31:11, 12, and 28).
Master / mistress (Genesis 16:4 and 24:9).
Bridegroom / bride (Psalm 19:5; Isaiah 49:18; 61:10; 62:5; and Jeremiah 33:11).
Mankind / womankind (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13).
Young men / maidens (Isaiah 62:5).
Sons / daughters (Genesis 5:4).
Boys / girls (Zechariah 8:5).
We notice in every mention of the sexes that God creates them opposite, not the same. God called them Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Arthur W. Pink comments on God's creation of man: "Not both males or both females, but one male and one female; and to make the design of this unmistakably plain God says, "Be fruitful and multiply." For this reason marriage is called "matrimony," which signifies motherage because it results in virgins becoming mothers."
Male and female are awesomely, wonderfully, intricately, and marvelously created (Psalm 139:14, 15). We are created perfectly to function as God designed. All God's works, which includes each one of us, are:
Perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30).
Awesome (Psalm 66:3).
Great (Psalm 92:5; 111:2; Revelation 15:3).
Holy (Psalm 145: 17).
Honorable (Psalm 111:3)
Just (Psalm 111:7; Daniel 4:37; Revelation 15:3).
Marvelous (1 Chronicles 16:12, 24; Psalm 9:1; 105:5; 139:14; Revelation 15:3).
Powerful (Psalm 111:6).
Righteous (Daniel 9:14).
True (Psalm 33:4; 111:7; Daniel 4:37; Revelation 15:3).
Wise (Psalm 104:24).
Wonderful (Job 37:14, 16; Psalm 40:5; 71:17; 75:1; 78:4, 11, 32; 105:2; 107:8, 21, 24, 31; 111:4; 145:5).
Why would we ever think of violating God's perfect plan? It takes a male and a female to bring forth children and continue the generations.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
PRAYER:
"I thank you, Father, for Your wondrous, perfect, and amazing design. I honor the way You made me and I want to glorify You by allowing my body to function according to Your glorious design. Amen."
AFFIRMATION:
I give thanks to God for I am awesomely and wonderfully designed.