Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Watch Out For The Imposters

A tree is a tree, right? Just checking.


Jeremiah 10:1-6 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.

3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. 4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. 5 Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

6 Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.

Notice where Jeremiah got his message from? He received it from God! The only God that is capable of speaking up for himself. Everybody else is cutting down trees to make a God that can't talk but the God that created that tree can talk and he has a message for you, "save the trees, they can't do anything to help you."

Jeremiah goes on to describe the superiority of his God in Jeremiah 10:10-16:

✔ He is the one true God.
✔ He is alive and always will be.
✔ His power made the earth and it is the only thing that is sustaining it.

We can set ourselves up as gods, we can even make a god out of stuff that the real God gave us such as a tree, we can try anything that we want but there is only one true God that has any power. It reminds me of the story of Elijah and the false prophets of Baal, Elijah oversaw a contest to see who had the power, "god" or "God." The real God showed up that day and made it very clear who he is and how powerful he is. (1 Kings 18:16-40)

We look for replacement gods, people that can decipher signs and wonders to give us a clue about tomorrow, it makes you wonder why we can't give our tomorrow to the real God and depend on him for our safety, security, fears and worries. It doesn't matter if I am dead or alive I know that God has my tomorrow covered.

Let me introduce you to the real God

Deuteronomy 4:32-35 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. 35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other.
It shouldn't be any great leap of faith to believe in the one true God, he introduced himself to his people long ago, they saw his judgement in what happened to the Egyptians, they saw mercy and love in the way that he treated them. They had already seen great miracles to prove that there is one true God and yet they still wanted to find somebody else to worship.

Just be different! The rest of the world is looking for a God that fits their lifestyle and personal taste. A God that they can control, a God that wont ask too much of them, the God that they want isn't going to ask them to change. The real God gave us so much that he wants us to give back by living to please him.

I can depend on my God to come through for me. He has already come through for me in the biggest and most needful way by sending Jesus to earth to die for my sins. I know that he will come through for me in my daily struggles.