What Are You Trusting?

“Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? No, you served your pagan gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god—the images you made for yourselves. [Amos 5.25-26]

As Amos speaks for God, it is obvious that God is quite displeased with the infiltration of foreign gods and idolatry into the lives of His people. 

What does "infiltration" look like today?

Let's consider the following popular statement, "I know God heals, but He uses doctors..."?

Can we all just get real for a moment? If we really trusted God, the medical/pharmaceutical industry would not be nearly so large as it is. I saw today where life and health insurance is the fifth largest industry in the world. These industries care nothing for people except for the inflow of dollars from them! And then well-meaning (albeit ignorant) Christians say God uses these money-hungry industries to bless His people? REALLY?

I know, I know, Luke was a doctor. But do we have even one Bible reference to Luke actually practicing medicine? Come on, surely there's got to be one, right? (there genuinely might be, but I know nothing of it) Are we going to ignore the overwhelming warnings of the Bible against idolatry (trusting something other than God) just to defend our unbridled dependence upon medicine with the fact that "Luke was a doctor?" While on the subject, does it not say something about Luke that his Gospel records more miraculous healings than any of the other three Gospels? Not once, did Luke defend his profession with some silly statement!

I don't mean to just pick on medicine... The problem in Christianity is much worse than just the idol of medicine. In fact, medicine is just the 'tip of the iceberg' when it comes to man's idolatry with himself. Have you ever heard the phrase "self-reliant?" How about "self-help?" There is almost no end to phrases starting with "self" and ending with something God claimed He IS to us.

Jesus left no guesswork to the "self" problem with this command:

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. [Matthew 16.24] (see also Mark 8.34, Luke 9.23)

But, let's be reasonable, right? After all, God gave us a mind to think!

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. [2 Corinthians 10.3-5]

Human reason is the proud enemy of God's Word.

Sure, go ahead and defend man's systems, knowledge, and reason... Besides, there is plenty of 'support material' out there to justify so doing. But know this: we will all stand before our God Whose only requirement to please Him is faith in Him through Jesus Christ. Will He say to you, "Well done good and FAITHFUL servant...?"

Can you say without a shred of doubt that your faith is only in Him?

You shall have no other gods before Me. [Exodus 20.3]

Father, may I be found faithful to You and You ALONE!