Thought for January 3, 2024

  •  1521: Martin Luther excommunicated
  • 1777: Washington wins the battle of Princeton
  • 1977: Apple Computer incorporated
  • 1987: Aretha Franklin is the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • 1996: Motorola StarTAC clamshell flip phone goes on sale
  • Born: Cicero, JRR Tolkien, Mel Gibson, Greta Thunberg
  • Died: Jack Ruby, Joy Adamson, Josiah Wedgwood, Conrad Hilton, Phil Everly, 
Thought:
Thinking about the New Year led me to look at the word "new" in the Bible. As we start the new year, maybe the Lord has something to tell me about how He makes all things new [Revelation 21:5]

Today I am looking at Deuteronomy 32, the Song of Moses, and particularly 32:17. As you know, the Song of Moses tells the story of God's faithfulness to Israel and Israel's unfaithfulness to God. The first 14 verses recall the might, power and blessings of God--His creation, His provision for Israel, His protection over Israel, and the blessings of the Promised Land. Beginning with verse 15, Moses tells us that Israel became fat and arrogant--forsook the Lord and worshipped strange gods. Now look at verse 17--"they sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately."

Monday I thought about Genesis 1, "in the beginning, God." Now I read verse 17 and think about:
  • Who do I sacrifice to? Is acceptance or praise of others so important that I sacrifice my beliefs, my covenant, my fellowship with the true God? Is position or power so tempting to me that I sacrifice honesty, morality, time, resources? When I say I am sacrificing for my family, am I really doing it to feed my own ego and need for affirmation? 
  • Who are the new gods that I worship? Let me examine my time, checkbook---what consumes my time? Television, hobbies, work, relaxation---now, none of these are bad of themselves, but when they take priority over communicating with the Lord or serving Him there is a problem. 
Then I look at Judges 5, the Song of Deborah and Barak. Look at verse 8. "New gods were chosen: then war was in the gates." Is that  problem for me, our church, our nation? We decide to follow new gods, people or things we worship or are fanatical about--and then we are surprised that war follows. Perhaps the war is a national event. But more likely, when I start following new gods, the warfare is division, strife, broken relationships. The warfare is my rebellion agains the true God. 

Maybe in this new year, I should be careful that no new gods come into my life. Nothing new gets first priority, no new person or cause gains my most fervent attention. Lord, help me discern when false gods tempt my life and give me strength to resist.

Blessings
Larry

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