Trusting God ALONE (Or Not)

Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab’s daughter. A few years later he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to recover Ramoth-gilead. [2 Chronicles 18.1-2] 

This passage should not be overlooked for the idolatry found in it. We have two different kings with whom God had separate dealings with. And, as always with God, He demands singular undivided trust in Him ALONE. 

Here in this passage, both kings are resorting to an alliance that violates their trust in God ALONE. As this instance will play out, the result of this alliance will cost Ahab his life and nearly cost Jehoshaphat his.

Such is the costly price of idolatry - trusting anything in addition to, or besides God ALONE.

The solution is simple from both an Old Testament perspective and a New Testament perspective (because God's warning against idols is not just limited to the Old Testament):

“O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” [Hosea 14.8]

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. [1 John 5.21]

Jesus Christ, present at the Creation, prophesied of throughout the Old Testament, and present again in the New Testament was no less exclusive in His demand for undivided allegiance:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

Question: What alliances in our lives today render us idolaters? Answer: Every alliance that offers to do for us what God said He Himself would do for us. These idols can be easily identified by the existence of two primary but telling factors: "agreements" (alliances and contracts: "marriages" of what is Godly and what is not) and the exchange of value (most commonly, money). These two factors are just as present in man's industries of debt, insurance, medicine and technology today as they were in nearly every instance of idolatry in the Bible.

Here is where we really need to pay attention: Ahab was on a God-ordained mission to destroy Ben-hadad. Instead of trusting God ALONE however, Ahab solicited Jehoshaphat as an ally. It was a reasonable move, but not a "God" move. The overwhelming majority of religious leaders (prophets of the day) all joined in Ahab's fallacy:

So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, 400 of them, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?” They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! God will give the king victory.” [2 Chronicles 18.5]

Notice that all the prophets agreed with Ahab that God would give victory albeit using Ahab's alliance with Jehoshaphat. NOTE: THEY DID NOT EXCLUDE "GOD" but were all convinced that the alliance with Jehoshaphat would insure a handy victory - they all agreed that would be "God's way."

But a true prophet of God, Micaiah, disagreed. While the story is actually about Ahab and Jehoshaphat, there is also the undeniable story about Micaiah standing alone in opposition to the religious consensus (of the 400 prophets). 

Why would Micaiah prophesy Ahab's doom when, as a true prophet, he would have known that Ahab was ordained to destroy Ben-hadad (see 1 Kings 20.28)? The answer is simple: Ahab had forsaken trusting in God ALONE and had idolatrously solicited the help of Jehoshaphat!

God is not calling us to join in idolatrous agreement with religion that allows and in most cases even endorses man's alliances with debt, insurance, medicine and technology. God is calling us to give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Jesus ONLY. We are to forsake every way of, and alliance with, the world and instead rely entirely upon God as did Jesus, pulling a coin from a fish's mouth if necessary, walking through danger as if it weren't there, living in miraculous healing, and denying "self" any control over us. The cross on our shoulder testifies that death itself has no influence over us and certainly invokes no fear. This resolve is what Micaiah's refusal to "go with the crowd" screams at us today. Unfortunately, Micaiah's stance is more resolve than most are willing to make. 

What's worse is that mainstream religion has twisted the Scriptures to deceive the masses that their faith-lessness in not following Jesus ONLY but soliciting outside help (their idolatry) is forgiven by God's grace. This supposed condition of "grace" upon "idolatry" is an impossible arrangement - a ludicrous presumption - because idolatry is not faith in God ALONE.

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. [Romans 4.16]

We are given Ahab's story for a reason. We are given Micaiah's story for a reason. We are given the entire Bible for a REASON!

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. [1 John 5.21]

In another translation... 

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. [1 John 5.21 NKJV] 

A person cannot trust God - they cannot trust Jesus - and hold to the ways (alliances/idols) of the world. 

Father, help us to give up our own way (with all the practical reasoning behind it), take up our cross (with a resolve that not even death can deter), and follow Jesus. So be it.

I Think I Am Hobbled...

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. [1 Kings 18.21] 

I think I am hobbled...

Hobbled About What You Believe?

Jesus In Elijah's Story

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

Father, as I look back over what I believe You spoke to me from Your Word in 1 Kings 18 over the previous two years, I find myself unmistakably "hobbled." Help me to take definitive steps to prove my undivided faith in You ALONE. So be it.

The Popular Error Of Faith

At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the LORD, and he handed them over to you. The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” [2 Chronicles 16.7-9] 

What was Hanani talking about?

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah. Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: “Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.” [2 Chronicles 16.1-3]

Asa resorted to idolatry - trusting something other than God. Hanani's message from God made crystal clear the fact that God desires and demands undiluted, unadulterated faith:

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” [2 Chronicles 16.9] 

We should conclude then that God withholds His strength from those who, like Asa, trust something in addition to or in lieu of God ALONE. 

If we employ the popular error of modern faith, it might be argued that Ben-hadad's help was "God's way" of helping Judah. However, the Scriptures make no such assertion, but in fact, contradict this modern deception entirely.

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” [2 Chronicles 16.9] 

How does this relate to modern "believers in God" who say God uses debt, insurance, medicine and technology to meet the needs of His people? 

Debt, insurance, medicine and technology are no more "God's way" than Asa's alliance with Ben-hadad was "God's way." Indeed, these industries are the flagship categories of a plethora of named idols in our day.

Asa's dilution of faith in God ALONE ultimately led to his painful demise:

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the LORD’s help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. [2 Chronicles 16.12-13]

And, in gross and conveniently willful ignorance of God's Word, the Church today is essentially void of God's distinct miraculous power. Oh sure, debt, insurance, medicine and technology yield "relief" to God's people like Ben-hadad brought relief to Asa and Judah, but that "relief" was and is temporary (not to mention costly). No matter how vehemently one might argue that God uses debt, insurance, medicine and technology (solutions of man), God's Word screams in stark disagreement:

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” [2 Chronicles 16.9] 

Speaking of "fully committed," Jesus Christ, Who taught, demonstrated, and demanded distinct miraculous power in the obedience of faith, only confirmed 2 Chronicles 16.9:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

And still, "Christian" people, in gross and conveniently willful ignorance of the Bible, will argue for their idols - the way of man - their own way... taking God's name in vain with every defense of man's named idols as being "God's way" to meet man's needs. It is indeed the popular error of faith.

Father, may error of faith so popular today be exposed. May the scales be removed from "believers'" eyes as they forsake popular opinion and instead abide by the truth of Your Word. So be it.

Where Are The "Men of God"?

Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.” [1 Kings 13.31-32] 

The story behind this passage is perhaps one of the most serious indictments upon the Church today. As should be expected however, few will see it...

Here is how it all started:

At the LORD’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. Then at the LORD’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.” [1 Kings 13.1-3]

For such a profound story, the fact that the "man of God from Judah" remained unnamed is significant. The fact that the man of God was not mentioned by name should tell us that his actions were not confined to him, but should be seen as the generic actions of any true "man of God."

It is also significant that the true "man of God" unapologetically decried idolatry and that that idolatry was deeply involved with the "government." For that reason, the man of God was to have nothing to do with the government and the idolatry it was involved in.

When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD. [1 Kings 13.4-5]

Even though the government opposed the man of God, it could not prevent idolatry from being exposed for what it was as the crack appeared in the altar and ashes poured out. Against the truth spoken by the man of God, the government also suffered because its idolatry could not defend it.

At this point, the government sought and received help from the man of God.

The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again. [1 Kings 13.6]

Then, the government unsuccessfully attempted to befriend the man of God.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” So he left Bethel and went home another way. [1 Kings 13.7-10]

While everything up to this point can easily be imagined relative to idolatry in current times, it is what happens next that is most telling:

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken. “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.” “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home. [1 Kings 13.11-19] 

The old prophet in Bethel, as it turns out, was not a true man of God, but a liar. He was a poser. He was, in fact, an idolater himself because in all his years' exposure to idolatry (without decrying it) he had become spiritually blind to his own digression into it himself. But he still wanted to befriend and be associated with the true man of God.

As the story turns out, the true man of God fell victim to one small lie himself. As a consequence, he died and his message was ultimately ineffective.

Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.” After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. When the prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD’s command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.” Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, my brother!” Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.” But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth. [1 Kings 13.20-34]

Here's the point (again, if we can see it): King Jeroboam represents the government whose political influence, intentionally void of the fear of the LORD, opposes God and His ways fully embracing idolatry. Such is the condition of most world governments today. They unashamedly embrace man's idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology. When a man of God comes along (his name does not matter) decrying the nation's gross immersion in idolatry, the government defends its idolatry. However, the government is powerless against the judgment of God against idolatry and must eventually concede its need for help from the man of God (when disaster strikes they promote, "everyone pray!").

Furthermore, the old prophet represents the Church in its present condition of having become blind to its own headlong participation with idols. The Church wants to be "associated" with the power of God, but instead plays the role of diluting God's message against idolatry (just a little lie) rendering the message of the man of God ineffective. Even still, the Church wants to remain associated with the power of the man of God whose message the Church rendered ineffective. All the while, idolatry goes on unchecked. The Church "bows" to the idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology as much or more than the world.

Call me whatever, but I want to be a true "man of God" in this age. I want to be keenly aware of the little lie that would draw me into fellowship with idolaters and their idolatry. If this story in 1 Kings 13 means anything, it means that a true man of God can expect neither government nor the Church to accept his message decrying idolatry. A true man of God can expect push-back even to the point of the idolatrous Church inserting just a little lie that fellowship with anything associated with idolatry is okay.

Father, may there be true "men of God" in this age who are not afraid to decry the idolatry that is so prevalent among us in debt, insurance, medicine and technology. May these true "men of God" not fall victim to the lies (found most often in the fellowship of religious people) that render the message against idolatry ineffective. May the eyes of the "old prophet" the Church be opened to the truth of its idolatry. So be it.

It's That Simple

But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. [Ecclesiastes 12.12] 

With all the libraries of books written about the Bible and the academia surrounding those books, doesn't it make sense that by now as history goes "people of the Bible" today should be highly unified?

But, they are not. The "Church" is highly divided. Opposing denominations and doctrines abound. Proponents of various denominations or sects most often isolate themselves only to their own views on the Bible and Christianity. Every denomination or sect vehemently defends its particular "take" on the Bible while ultimately decrying all others. Even those opposed to "denomination" have effectively become a denomination unto themselves. What a mess! This "mess" is certainly not what Jesus prayed for!

Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. [John 17.11]

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. [John 17.21]

For Solomon to make the observation of Ecclesiastes 12.12 is a big deal because Solomon was a man of great wisdom. So, in light of Solomon having made the statement of Ecclesiastes 12.12, we should be keenly alert to what he followed that observation with:

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. [Ecclesiastes 12.13]

If writing books and studying are not the answer, what is? Fearing God and obeying His commands.

Unfortunately the topic of fearing God and obeying His commands is just as divisive among denominations and sects of Christianity. Most of Christianity must necessarily engage in long dialog to "explain" fearing God and obeying His commands. These explanations generally address the Bible's division into the Old and New Testaments. So much effort has been made to support the distinction between the Old and New Testaments that few, if any are actually grounded on the overriding Bible fact that Jesus existed from the beginning. And so, the arguments continue...

However, if people will see it, Jesus explained "fearing God and obeying His commands" in simple terms:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

If all the books in the world, and all the study thereof, do not arrive at Matthew 16.24, they are eternally useless. Jesus attested to this fact:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]

Every bit of "fearing God and obeying His commands" is fulfilled in a person giving up their own way, taking up their cross, and following Jesus.

It's that simple. Our religious divisions are wrong, and Jesus is right.

Father, Solomon's testimony is valid... He walked in Your extreme blessings, forsook You, and then seemingly came back to You in his conclusion of Ecclesiastes 12.13. May we be as candid in our understanding. So be it.

Solomon Teaches Us From His Mistakes

I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare. [Ecclesiastes 7.26] 

Because we know a thing or two about Solomon from Bible sources other than just Ecclesiastes, we can understand from some of the things said in Ecclesiastes that Solomon, in his then-present condition, had digressed in his undiluted faith in God ALONE. Solomon teaches us from his mistakes.

First, by the time Solomon penned Ecclesiastes, he had certainly already amassed his 700 wives and 300 concubines. From the Scriptures we know with certainty that these women were mostly foreign women with foreign gods who led Solomon headlong into idolatry.

Based on everything else Solomon said just in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, we can see that Solomon's wisdom, in conjunction with his idolatry, left him conflicted and fatalistic. And, in this condition, Solomon groveled in his conflicted fatalism without recognizing his own role in it.

Verse 26 of Ecclesiastes 7 suggests that Solomon's groveling, conflict, fatalism, and idol-induced blindness came even in spite of his unmatched wisdom. Solomon fully recognized the curses of the "seductive woman" without a moment's accountability for having willfully and intentionally invited the "seductive woman" (women) into his own life. Verses 27-29 then actually reveal just how complete Solomon's idol-induced blindness had become:

“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman! But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” [Ecclesiastes 7.27-29]

Every possible angle? Really? If we can see it, Solomon fully recognized his wives' and concubines' role in his fate but did not see his own contribution to it. Solomon held out as the one-in-a-thousand virtuous man who was fatefully (as in, randomly) cursed. The one angle from which Solomon failed to look at his present situation was the angle where he had ignored God's Word about taking multiple foreign women unto himself. Such is the age-old work of Satan's blinding device of idolatry.

As we look at the seductive woman's captivating effect that Solomon described, we see everything Jesus came to set aright:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” [Luke 4.18-19]

Jesus' quote of Isaiah 61.1-2 here referring to captives being released, the blind seeing, the oppressed being set free, and the time of God's favor all clearly address the problem Solomon defined in Ecclesiastes 7.26.

It should not be overlooked in Ecclesiastes 7.26 that Solomon, whether intentionally or not, indicted himself accurately in his reference to "those who are pleasing to God" because "those who are pleasing to God" are those who sincerely (undividedly) believe God:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

To sincerely seek God is to trust Him ALONE. While Solomon never denied the existence of God in his life, his disobedience of collecting foreign women and their foreign gods, effectively blinded him to the fact that the trap more bitter than death described in Ecclesiastes 7.26 was the exact opposite of God's reward for undivided (sincere) faith. In fact, Solomon revealed his own faithless exit from God's pleasure into God's displeasure without seeing that he had begun to trust in idols. Consequently, Solomon never 'connected the dots' between the "meaningless life" he described in Ecclesiastes and his own gross faithlessness to God ALONE.

Sadly, such is the condition of the Church today where every curse abounds and "good people" blindly attempt to attribute "bad things" to random fate (albeit somehow lovingly ordained by God). Satan's deception is still at work blinding people today just as he blinded Solomon centuries ago, all induced by idolatry: trusting other gods in addition to God, instead of sincerely trusting God ALONE.

Curses don't lie, but deceived people do because the one who deceives them is a liar himself - a God "damned" liar who insists that curses mean nothing. Satan wants nothing more than for people to deny curses' implications, because to do so is to deny God's Word, and therefore, to deny God. It all started in the Garden of Eden.

This is an uncomfortable reality to reconcile with. So, let's talk about grace!

New Testament grace is for "believers in Jesus ALONE." Jesus always advocated for and demanded undivided faith in God ALONE. Partial faith in God means the rest of man's faith is in something else. That "something else" is idolatry - taking "wives" that are forbidden by God - "seductive foreign women" and the idols attached to their allure. Any trust in any idol blinds the idol-believer to any accountability on his part for his "captive" situation(s). Holding to these idols simply cannot be reconciled with Jesus' strict demand:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

The person who effectively gives up their own way, takes up their cross, and follows Jesus SHOULD reflect Jesus' resurrection life in EVERY WAY: captives should be released, the blind should see, the oppressed should be set free, and God's favor (every blessing/reward of God upon obedience) should come. But, we don't see this because we, like Solomon, are blinded to the truth and have satisfied ourselves that our circumstances are random (someone else's fault) when those circumstances are instead the direct product of our own selfish lust for idols. The Church today is warned against by the apostle Paul:

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.1-5]

To be clear, man's idols in the 21st Century are as complex and advanced as man himself. The idols that blind mankind today have many names and are found in the broad categories of debt, insurance, medicine and technology. These industries do not demand that we outright deny God, but lure us (as would a seductive woman) to add them to our belief in God diluting our faith in God ALONE effectively blinding us to the obvious curses we suffer just like those who deny God altogether (the world). Our subsequent blindness to the Biblical implication of curses manifested on our lives necessitates, like Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that we "wisely" attribute them to randomness and fate out of our control. 

To further blind people, the devil has convinced the Church to embrace unbiblical ideas about "bad things" randomly happening to "good people." Amazingly, Solomon's own Proverbs from earlier in his life say otherwise:

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]

The Bible continues to reveal that past, present, and future captivity of idolatry. But these words will be as meaningless to us as they were to Solomon as long as we hold to our forbidden foreign wives, the idols that convince us that our circumstances are nothing but random fate (thus negating our need to repent).

Father, I am more convinced today that Christianity is, by and large, as deceived as was Solomon regarding his captivity to idolatry. The distinguishing curses that the Church powerlessly suffers just like the world tell all. By Your Word, shine light on our path that we might see the gross idolatry that we have, up to this time, been in denial of. By Your Word, Jesus, may we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him. May Your people look different than the world. So be it.

Big Words - God's Purpose

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. [Ecclesiastes 3.14] 

Big words are spoken here, especially when it comes to talking about God's purpose.

Why does God exist? So people should fear him.

Why did God create the earth? So people should fear him.

Why did God give man rules? So people should fear him.

Why did God give His Son? So people should fear him.

Why did God create heaven and hell? So people should fear him.

Okay, so we get the idea of what motivates God. So then, what does it mean for us to fear God? We should look to the first demonstration of actually and intentionally fearing God recorded in the Bible (Abraham):

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” [Genesis 22.12]

To fear God is to believe Him. However, it must be understood that to fear God is not just to believe in him as we believe in a plethora of things, but to fear God is to believe ONLY in him with no deference whatsoever to human reason (i.e., unconditionally). To fear God is to quite literally abandon ourselves entirely to Him.

It should not surprise us that God in the flesh, Jesus, confirmed this in no uncertain terms:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

God's purpose is that people should fear Him - believe in Him as He manifested Himself in Jesus Christ demanding singular, undivided obedience to (faith in) Him ONLY.

But, what about love? Well, let's look at love:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

Although God' love is unconditional for mankind, man's receipt of the benefit of God's love is very strictly conditioned upon fearing Him - believing in Him ONLY. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

In today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, there is an important statement that just happens to immediately follow the subject verse above:

What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. [Ecclesiastes 3.15]

Just as God's purpose is unrelenting, so it is that everything that opposes God is unrelenting. And, what is everything that opposes God? Idolatry.

Idolatry is the recurring "problem" of the Bible (the same thing happening over and over again). It is for this purpose that God’s purpose is that people should fear him. Remember that fearing God is believing in Him ONLY - believing in Jesus Christ ALONE - giving up every way of our own (idols), taking up our cross (the indisputable proof of undivided love), and following Him.

God’s purpose ...that people should fear him is the reason we have the entire Bible.

Father, may we be found fearing You - having given up our own way, taken up our cross, and following Jesus ONLY. So be it.