WHICH GOD DO YOU WORSHIP?

Part 3

"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"
(Exodus 15:11).

 A. W. Tozer writes: "Among the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is--in itself a monstrous sin--and substitutes for the true God one made after its own likeness. . . . The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him."

Erwin W. Lutzer writes: "Idolatry is more than dancing around a statue of silver or gold; it is constructing a mental idea of a deity that bears little resemblance to the God who actually exists. Idolatry is giving respectability to our own opinions of God, formed after our likeness. Idolatry is fashioning an idea of God according to our inclinations and preferences. It is to pare God down to "more manageable proportions."

Another false conception we have of God is that we think that:

3. GOD IS TOLERANT OF THE WAY I LIVE

The religion of Tolerance is prevalent today. Whenever you take a stand for righteousness, Christians respond with "Judge not, that ye be not judged." They forget that God says that judgment will be "given to the saints of the most High" (Daniel 7:22).

There are many who commit fornication and adultery and yet continue to go to church each Sunday thinking that God overlooks their sin. No He doesn't. Jesus' sacrificial death upon the cross paid the price for their salvation and deliverance, but repentance comes first.

God's unchanging Word says that those who live this lifestyle:

a) Deny our Lord Jesus Christ

Jude 1:4 (NIV): "For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

b) Will not inherit the kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 6:9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21; 5:5).

c) Sin against their own body

1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication shineth against his own body."

There are many who no longer think that God is a holy God. They love the entertainments of this world and are not interested in seeking after the things of God. To go to a prayer meeting does not sound like fun.

And what about clothing? It is hard to know where to look in the church today. In every direction women brazenly and unashamedly show cleavage. Where is their shame? Do they no longer know how to blush? Where are their husbands who should protect them from exposing themselves to every other man?

God does not intend us to dress in dowdy manner. He loves beautiful and colorful clothes (Exodus 28:2). But He wants us to dress in a holy manner. He intends clothes to cover the private parts of the body (1 Timothy 2:9, 10). Hebrews 12:14 tell us that without holiness "no man shall see the Lord."

If we worship the true God, the God of the Bible, we will know that He is a Holy God. We will be in awe of His holiness and it will keep us walking in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 6:3, 5: "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. . . . Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

1 Peter 1:15, 16: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct); because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

"O glorious and holy God, I don't want my eyes to be clouded by deception and the things of this world which hide the glory of your holiness. Help me to understand even a little of Your awesome light and holiness for I want to walk in the fear of the Lord. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am opening my heart daily for God to shine His holy light into my soul and expose all that grieves Him.

QUOTES REFERENCED:

"The Knowledge of the Holy" by A. W. Tozer

"Ten Lies About God (And How You Might Already Be Deceived" by Erwin W. Lutzer

CHECK THIS LINK:

http://tinyurl.com/PermissionToJudge

WHICH GOD DO YOU WORSHIP?
Part 2

"To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"
(Isaiah 40:18).

We continue today talking about how we think about God. Do our thoughts match up with the God of the Bible or have we made a god of our own design? Another false conception people have of God is that:

2. GOD VIEWS CHILDREN LIKE WE DO

The attitude of most Christians towards children reveals that they do not believe in a God who wants to bless us with children. Most couples believe in limiting their family size to a number they think they can afford, or the number they decide to fit in with their life agenda.

I talked to a gentlemen recently who said, "We can only afford three children."

"So you believe in a God who is only capable of providing for three children?" I replied. This does not sound like the God of the universe who created the earth and all the galaxies and worlds beyond our earth. It doesn't sound like the God of the Bible.

Let's come to the Word and get a little glimpse of what our God is like. First of all, can I ask you a question? What was the very first thing God did after creating Adam and Eve? He blessed them. God is a blessing God who loves to bless His creatures. And how did He bless them? He blessed them with fruitfulness of the womb. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion . . . " (Genesis 1: 28).

In fact, every time God talks about fruitfulness, He first gives His blessing to the man and wife. Every conception is a blessing from God.

When God spoke to Abraham about his wife Sarah, He said: "And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her" (Genesis 17:15, 16).

Genesis 49:25 speaks of the "blessings of the breasts, and of the womb." They are blessings to embrace, not curses to avoid.

Deuteronomy 7:12 talks about God showing mercy to His people. Verse 13 and 14 continue: "He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb . . . Thou shalt be blessed above all people there shall not be male or female barren among you."

What a beautiful understanding of God. How does He show us His mercy, love, and blessings to us? Not always with material possessions, an easy life, and getting everything we want, but with the blessing of children from the womb.

In Deuteronomy 13:12-18 God tells the children of Israel how they must destroy those who serve other gods so that He will "turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers." After the judgment comes God's love and kindness. The words "mercy" and "compassion" are both the same Hebrew word "racham" which mean "love, compassion, tender pity, and the womb." Once again, how does God show His great love and compassion to us? By giving us children.

Deuteronomy 28:2-4 says: "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body . . . " You can read verses 1-14 to check out all the other blessings that we receive when we walk in obedience to God's ways, but the very first blessing He mentions is the fruit of the womb.

As parents it is our responsibility to leave an inheritance for our children. It is a great blessing to receive an inheritance--a house, land, or even a million dollars! God as our Father also loves to give us an inheritance and He knows the best inheritance for us. Psalm 127:3 (GW) says: "Children are an inheritance from the LORD." I love the way the Douay-Rheims Bible translates this Scripture: "Behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb."

The inheritance of material possessions will pass away, but children are eternal souls who will live forever. Each child also gives us grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the blessing of continuing generations.

If we do not believe in a God who wants to bless us with children, we worship a different God than the God of the Bible. If we do not believe He is able to provide for the children He gives us, we do not know the God of the Bible (Psalm 78:19-25).

Who is your God?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell\

PRAYER:

"Thank you, dear Father, that You are a God who loves to bless your people. Help me to understand that Your blessings are the best blessings. Help me to know You as You truly are. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

My God loves children and therefore I love children.

Further references:
God's blessing comes before conception:
Genesis 9:1; 17:20; 21:1, 2; 22:17, 18; 24:60; 48:3, 4; Leviticus 26:3, 9; Deuteronomy 1:10, 11; 33:24; 28:63; 30:5; 1 Samuel 2:21; 1 Chronicles 26:4, 5; Job 42:12, 13; Psalm 107:38; 115:12-15; 127:3-5; 128:1-3; Isaiah 51:21; and Luke 18:31.

Can God Provide for Another Baby:
http://tinyurl.com/CanGodProvideforBaby

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.

I KNEW IT NOT

"And Jacob awaked out of sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not"
(Genesis 28:16).

God is omnipresent and yet He is very personal. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, 6). How many times have we experienced the presence of God in our lives and yet not realized it? How many times have we received angelic deliverance and yet not realized it until afterwards?

I think it would be good for each one of us to become more aware of God's presence moving in our lives and protecting us. I can remember two vivid occasions in my life where I know I would be dead apart from angelic deliverance. How many other times have I not even realized God's hand protecting me? I think of our children and grandchildren and know that they are only alive by the miraculous angelic protection of God. I am sure our family keeps the angels busy.

Just the other week Evangeline was kayaking with her husband. Rounding the corner, the wide river narrowed to just a few yards with a tree fallen across the path. No way out of the fast current or escape from the tree. The kayak caught, flipped, and pinned her underneath the raging torrent with the paddle strap hooked around her leg.

Fortunately her husband was about 30 yards behind. Flying to the rescue and diving under, he was still not able to free her. Eventually he had to pass the knife to Evangeline who miraculously cut herself free while under the current. The angels were at the rescue.

Another time she was out hunting in Minneapolis in minus 20 degree weather when she fell through the ice into a swift moving river underneath the snow and ice. The night before her, husband had randomly told her how to try and save yourself if ever in such a freak situation happened. Once again the angels came to the rescue. The problem with our family is that they are too adventurous.

We also read many wonderful accounts in the Bible where God came in the form of a Christophany (a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ) or sent His angels and yet His servants did not realize it. Let's remind ourselves of just some of these wonderful testimonies:

Genesis 28:10-22
Do you remember the wonderful night when God appeared to Jacob in a dream? He saw angels ascending and descending on a ladder from earth to Heaven and at the top God appeared and spoke generational promises to him of blessing and multiplication. When he woke up, he said, "'Surely the LORD is in this place, but I did not realize it!' He was afraid and said, 'What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than he house of God! This is the gate of heaven!'" (NET).

2 Kings 6:8-23
This passage tells us about the king of Syria being at war with Israel. Every time he planned an ambush in a certain place, God would tell Elisha the place who would then tell the king of Israel. The Syrian king was furious and could not understand who was leaking his plans. Eventually he found the culprit was Elisha who told the king of Israel everything he said and even what he whispered in his bedroom! He was going to put a stop to this and sent a mighty fighting force of horses and chariots to surround the city of Dothan.

When Elisha's servant woke in the morning and saw the city surrounded with horses and chariots he was desperately afraid. But it didn't deter Elisha who said: "Do not be afraid, for THOSE WHO ARE WITH US ARE MORE THAN THOSE WHO ARE WITH THEM.' Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:16, 17 ESV).

2 Chronicles 32:1-8, 20-23.
King Hezekiah also understood God's angelic protection when King Sennacherib came to fight. He confessed to the people: "'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for THERE ARE MORE WITH US THAN WITH HIM. With him is an arm of flesh but WITH US IS THE LORD OUR GOD, to help us and to fight our battles'" (ESV).

Daniel 3: 1-30 and 6:16-23
We are familiar with the wonderful deliverance God gave to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were thrown into the fiery furnace and yet came out without even the smell of fire upon them. Only because "The Son of God" walked in the fire with them. God also sent His angel to shut the lions' mouths so they could not touch Daniel.

Luke 24:13-35
I love this story where Jesus appeared to the disciples who were miserably walking home to the village of Emmaus because Jesus had been crucified. They had no hope. They thought all was finished. Jesus came alongside them and began to reveal Himself to them through the Scriptures. Even though their hearts burned within them as he talked with them, they didn't know it was Him. It was only as they sat at the meal table with them that they recognized him.

Acts 12:5-11
Peter thought he was seeing a vision when the angel came to deliver him from prison. It wasn't until the angel left him in the street that he realized that he had actually been miraculously delivered by an angel.

As mothers, our hearts are very burdened for the protection of our children. Every day my husband I pray for the protection of every individual member of our family--over 60 names to pray for every morning. We pray that God will keep them from all accident, harm, sickness, and danger--and all enemy attack. I know you pray for children too. But we must believe that God answers our prayers. He sends His angels to watch over them, even when we don't know it.

Hebrews 1:14 says of the angels: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be hairs of salvation?" Thank God daily for His ministering angels even when you don't see the miracles they are performing.

Psalm 34:7: "The angel of the LORD encamps round about them that fear him, and delivers them."

And there are enough angels for all. Luke 2:13 tells us that a "multitude" of angels heralded Jesus' birth. Psalm 68:17 says: "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels." When Daniel describes the Ancient of days on His throne, he says that "a thousand thousands served him," which is talking about the angels (Daniel 7:9, 10).

God is working on your behalf far more than you realize.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

"I thank You, Father, for Your ministering angels which You send forth to watch over us and our children. Help us to always walk in the fear of the Lord so that we can claim Your wonderful promise that Your angels are camping around us. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

Because we walk in the fear of the Lord, the angels guard our house night and day.