God Doesn't Share

"Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim —for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods." -Exodus 34.12-16

Israel is preparing to enter a pagan land. They worship false gods with immoral and barbaric practices, and God commands His people to have nothing to do with them. When they enter the land they are to make no covenants with the people who inhabit it. Rather they are to destroy their worship practices. They are to tera down their altars, smash the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. There is to be no worship in the land except to the Lord.

God is jealous for the hearts of His people, and He will not compete with anything else for it. God will not share our hearts, with Him it is all or nothing. If His people want to chase after false gods and engage in pagan practices that is there choice, but they will forfeit God's presence and His blessings. God wants to be with His people. He wants to bless them. And so He tells them to have nothing to do with everything that is false. Sadly, as we'll see, they choose what is not God over and over.

Men, how many times have we found ourselves there? We know what God has commanded; we know what is right, and yet we find ourselves moving toward something that is more enticing. A lot of these pagan practices revolved around sex, you can understand the draw, but all of them led to destruction and defilement. And whenever we choose something that is not of God, no matter what the draw might be, wealth, power, prestige, etc. we end up in the same place.

All Israel had to do was devote themselves completely to God. All they had to do was destroy every item used to worship a false god and not make a covenant with those who engaged in that worship. All we have to do is not engage in the things that God has warned us against. We know what they are, you know what they are, and if we live in obedience we will enjoy God's presence and provision. But only if He has our full hearts.

God will not share your heart. Will you let Him have it all, or will you choose to worship a false god?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

When God Shows Up

"Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.' Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship." -Exodus 34.6-8

Moses is back on the Mountain, alone, and meeting with God. God shows ups and passes in front of him, and Moses' reaction is to quickly fall on his face in worship of God. He doesn't say "Hi". He doesn't start telling God all of his problems. He doesn't present any request to God. He falls on his face and begins to worship. This is the only appropriate action in this moment. God is there, and His presence demands, and deserves, our worship.

Men, what is your reaction when God shows up? Do you pour your problems on Him right from the beginning? Do you begin talking to Him about everything you need Him to do for you? Or do you fall on your face and worship the King of the universe?

Let our only reaction to God's presence be our instant worship. When He shows up, let us fall on our faces before Him. Let us humbly give Him our worship that He alone is worthy of.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Worship God

"Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. He said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.'" -Genesis 24.26-27

When the servant sees how God has answered his request, his first response is to praise and worship God. He doesn't send word to Abraham. He doesn't saddle up and head home with the girl. He doesn't even go with her to her father's house first. The very first response is to worship God.

When prayers are answered in your life, what is your first response? Do you call your wife? Do you meet with some friends to celebrate? Neither of those are bad things, and should be among the first things that we do. But our very first response should be to worship God.

Recently I found myself having a prayer answered, and answered in a way far beyond what I was hoping for. I think I did call my wife first, but in the midst of everything I caught myself, and I got on my knees and took a moment to thank and praise God for His incredible answer to prayer. That night, we went out with some friends to celebrate.

Men, nothing we accomplish is because of us, it's all a gift from God. Let us never take credit, and never forget to give credit. When God answers our prayers, let us immediately worship Him for the blessing.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Unquestioned Obedience

"Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did." -Genesis 6.22

God said to Noah, "Build an ark, fill it with animals and food, take your family in, because it's going to rain. I'm sending a flood." And it's important to keep in mind that it hadn't rained yet (Genesis 2.5). Think about the faith it took Noah. Build an ark, fill it, it's going to rain. But Noah does it exactly as God commands.

Noah was already different from everyone else. He's righteous and blameless, he walks with God. And because of that, he is able to have a trust and obedience to God that most people can't even imagine. He spends decades working on the ark, gathering food, and collecting animals, because God said a flood is coming. Building the ark was an act of worship. Worship is a trusting, obedient response to the word of God. Noah trusted and obeyed God, and therefore, Noah worshiped.

What is God asking you to do? What "ark" has He asked you to build? How crazy does it sound? What is your response to God? Have you tried to negotiate, and talk your way out of it, hoping to change God's mind? Or have you done according to all that God has commanded? Are you trusting and obeying? Are you worshiping?

To be righteous and blameless, to walk with God, we must worship. In order to worship, we must trust and obey the word of God.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor