No Idols (2)

You shall not make idols. This is the second commandment or statement of God.
4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.  Exodus 20:4-6.
What is an Idol? Having no other gods perhaps doesn't sound like a big deal today when we no longer worship a fertility god or the other countless Idols of ancient days.  Pomona the goddess of fruit trees is another one, the Roman Jupiter or the Greek Zeus. More common today is putting art or education or money ahead of God. It is not an idol made of stone, but it is first in our lives. The only true God is the God of the Bible, the creator of all. The giver of the Ten Commandments. God desires to be worshiped, and we make a false god when we worship something other than our creator God. Only one God that is worshiped makes us kin, children of the same father.  Any other idol causes trouble and division.  Some of the most educated people in the world followed Hitler or Stalin or Mao. Having a PH.D. does not guarantee we will be good or ethical any more than just having a high school education or less. Often I wonder if we worship a good speaker. People in bibles days followed Paul or Apollos. A good speaker is not a substitute for God.  Is it God we follow and worship? Or is it a Denomination? We can make idols of so many things in our lives, and we need to identify them and take them down and worship our creator, the one true God.  Do not make for yourself an image in the form of anything, in heaven above, or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. What occupies most of our time? Where do we go to seek guidance? God wants to be the center of our lives. God gave us these statements or commands to follow for the best life possible.  Any other god leads to trouble. Do not seek guidance from the dead or inanimate objects.  The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. 13The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.  Isaiah 8: 13. Respect is what fear means, God alone is to be regarded as holy and worshiped. Let us find and destroy the Idols in our lives. As some of the good kings in the Old Testament did, they found and destroyed the high places of other gods. Only the one true God is to be worshiped and sought for guidance in our lives.  No other gods, no idol, make the creator God the center of our lives. God bless, LVZ.