Scripture
I will destroy your high places. Your altars will be desolated and your shrines smashed. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.
Ezekiel 6:4-5, CSB
Quote
Keep it simple: love what God loves and hate what God hates.
~Image Quotes
In the preamble to the Decalogue, God spoke these words through His servant Moses… You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject Me. {Exodus 20:5, NLT} Later Moses says, You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. We have talked lately about the sovereignty of God which basically means–all things will come to their divinely appointed end. All God’s plans and purposes will be achieved. We would do well to recognize the fact that He is Jealous. Elton Trueblood points out: “there is a greater difference between one and two than two and twenty.” The the difference between one and two is singular and plural. After two, everything is plural. Our age is pluralistic but God abhors plurality when it comes to worship. Moses said, “His very name is Jealous,” with a capital J. The Israelites were supposed to be monotheist like their ancestor Abraham but they kept reverting back to paganism. God abhors idolatry, the worship of other gods. He gave them His word that He would personally destroy their high places, altars and shrines. A huge part of their judgment was to witness the destruction their gods and then witness the evil that their idolatry produced.
Today, as I was reading Ezekiel 6, verse 4 really got my attention…What are our HIGH PLACES? For the Israelites, it was the mountain tops with their groves and pagan altars. It was same places the Canaanites and Amorites had worshiped Baal. For them it was a physical location but what are our HIGH PLACES? What has the highest priority in our lives? To what or whom do we give our greatest allegiance? Is it money? It is with some folks. I ran into a millionaire the other day. I have known him for 40 years but he didn’t recognize me. When I told him who I was– he said, “When are you going to invite me over for supper?” I should have said ‘never’ but I was nice and avoided the question. The man will never change: he has millions but is looking for a free meal. Is your high place entertainment or recreation? Do you want to know the truth? Get your check book out and see how much you spent on entertainment last year and then compare that to what you gave to God’s Kingdom work. The average protestant gives $500 per year. The average protestant spends $1,500 per year on internet and cable TV alone. For some, their high place is religion. They are living by a point system. Like the Pharisees, they are living by their own self made code of ethics which is not in line with scripture. To them, church is a place you go rather than a living organism that is actively ministering. You can’t go to church when you are the church. We don’t need to go to church, we need to be the church. Those on the point system have inordinate pride. They keep up with their points and they have more points than others which gives them a feeling of superiority. As Colonel Potter would say, “Horse Feathers.” These folks would not know grace if it bit them on the neck.
Whether or not you are a child of God, He is going to destroy your high places, your altars and your gods but for those who are truly saved, He begins that process here and now. I have watched Him smash my gods one by one. I have seen them shattered and obliterated. I’m fairly confident, He will shatter some more. It’s His doing and it is a work of grace. I applaud and praise Him for it! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
- PTL, they keep changing the long range weather forecast and not they are saying we will have a day in the 70’s by next Friday.
- I visited the nursing home yesterday and Willard’s mother gave me a good chewing. I sat and talked with her about 10 minutes and then I got up to go. She told me to sit back down, she wasn’t ready for me to go. Then we got into a mild argument and I lost. I see a lot of Mrs. Jackie in Willard who has never hesitated to chew me out. Don Murphy’s mom, Mrs. Annie Murphy is next door.
- Please continue to pray for Jeremy’s sister Amanda. I hope to get to see her today. She had dialysis yesterday.
- June watched the Red Sox put the whip to the Yankee’s last night. I do see how anyone can beat the Red Sox.
- I’m picking Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Vandy, Florida and my upset special is Kentucky over Mississippi State. I think Alabama will struggle with A & M but hopefully win. I think Florida/Tennessee will also be close. Auburn and Georgia will have no problems. Tennessee has a tough schedule Florida, Georgia, Auburn and then Alabama. If Tennessee has a winning record or even 6-6 they will be doing great. Florida’s schedule has some bumps in the road with Mississippi State, LSU, Vandy and Georgia in a row. Here is what is hard to believe: the high school season will be at mid point after tonight and the college season is one third of the way and no one cares the NFL finishes its season. Unbelievable!