What Is Idolatry?

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths." Psalm 135:15-17 Idols are anything that a person wears or reveres for blessing, protection, or for "good luck." This is expressly forbidden by God throughout the Bible. Does this mean one should not wear any jewelry of a religious nature? No, if it only means a statement of what you believe - maybe a cross that remembers the Lord's crucifixion, or a star of David to show your love for Israel. If your intent though, is to place any kind of trust in them for blessing, protection, or "good luck," you have clearly defiled the commandment of God. Also, the Lord is speaking of anything one would bow down before, such as statues in churches or in bowing before statues of Mary or wearing medals, scapulars, or rosaries dedicated to her. It is the sin of idolatry to bow down or kneel before ANY statue. It is idolatry to wear medals created as a result of the several "apparitions" purported to be of Mary. The mother of Jesus did NOT appear in any of these sites. The mother of Jesus would never have told people to defy the commandment of God and build shrines to her, or to wear medals of her, such as the "miraculous medal," and others like it. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM nor serve them." Exodus 20:4-5 This is the second of the ten commandments. Most people are not aware that the Catholic church actually changed the 10 commandments. The Catholic church actually altered the Word of God! The Catholic church REMOVED the second commandment which says: You shall not make for yourself any graven image to bow before. And to keep people from realizing that, they took the tenth commandment and made it into two commandments so they'll still arrive at ten. This is abject heresy. If you doubt that, look it up. Read the ten commandments, NOT from a Catholic source, but as it was actually written in the Bible. Then compare it with the Catholic church's heretical version. The mother of Jesus would never have promised blessings to those who recite the "rosary." It is idolatry. "And when you pray, do not use VAIN REPETITIONS as the heathen do." Matthew 6:7 "Those who make them ARE LIKE THEM; so is everyone who trusts in them." Psalm 135:18 How are those who use these things "LIKE THEM?" The answer is found in the first verse above. Those who use them have eyes to see but don't see, having ears to hear they cannot hear. Wearing or bowing before medals or statues brings upon the person a spiritual blindness and deafness, a religious spirit, and that becomes very evident when one tries to tell them this is idolatry - they just can't see it. They cannot hear it. They are like what they revere, blind and deaf, just as the Word of God says. To the extent that one obeys the principles the Lord has established in his Word, to that extent the person will grow spiritually and be blessed. To the extent that one disobeys the principles God has established in his Word, it is to that extent that the person will be spiritually blind and deaf. You're wasting your time trying to tell them this, they just can't see it. To the extent that one's church teaches things in opposition to the Word of God, to that extent the church is a cult. If anyone reading this can "hear" what is being said here, if you belong to any church that teaches these things, you have to leave it. Otherwise you will not grow in the Lord, you CANNOT grow in the Lord, you will remain blind and deaf. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and TRUTH, for the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and TRUTH.” John 4:23-24 What is truth? The Word of God is the source, the fountain of truth. How can one worship God with idols? God forbid! No, rid yourself first of your idols, and then come and worship God, and God ALONE ...in spirit and IN TRUTH. More on this

The Way of Triumph When Overwhelmed

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place." 2 Corinthians 2:14 When you use the word "triumph," you're speaking of conflict. You don't triumph over ease, you triumph in conflict. We have this assurance that Jesus Christ leads us in triumph in every conflict - IF - we are abiding in him. There are times when it will appear that we are being destroyed, there are times when the Lord allows the enemy to assail us and wear us out as in the life of Job, but the purpose of it is always to grow us up in the faith and to glorify God in the end of the story. But that is not a given. It will depend on what our response is. Some people are destroyed in the conflict. The intensity of the assault of the enemy against you will be in direct proportion to the plan of God for your life. The greater your call, the greater the effort to destroy you. It can be overwhelming. Many times it will make no sense. You may feel abandoned. And you will be angry, very angry because it will seem unfair when this sort of thing comes while you are not in sin and when you are serving the Lord with all your heart. You will feel outrage ...until you understand what is going on. When you find yourself in a conflict and it seems the enemy is prevailing, the response the Lord is waiting for is that you humble yourself before him and ask for direction in how to proceed. Your recourse is to fall at the feet of the Lord and ask for direction. You cannot figure your way out of it, don't even try. You MUST get the direction from the Lord because he is the only one who knows exactly what is going on. vs 15: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." When you go through a terrible ordeal, there are two groups of people watching you. Believers are watching you, many times in horror, wondering what on earth might be happening and how you will ever survive. And the world is watching you, many times snickering and saying "where is his God!" If you order your steps right, you will come out with the fragrance of Christ upon you. Believers will marvel and be strengthened in their faith when they see God move on your behalf, and the world - who thought surely you would go under this time - will see the undeniable witness of the power and glory of God upon you as God resolves the conflict and sends Satan packing. This is how you defeat Satan and send him away in shame. Do not lean to your own understanding when a terrible ordeal comes upon you, you will never ever understand it because you don't have the perspective of what's happening in the spiritual realm. You MUST - you MUST - fall at the feet of Jesus and ask for specific direction as to what you are to do. He will meet you there. He will show you exactly what response he wants from you, whether to fight or to wait, to go forward or to hold back, what exactly to do or not do, and when and how. Then you will be invincible and there is no demon in hell or power in the heavenlies who will be able to stand against you. This is how you end in triumph.

Pull Them Out Of The Fire

"Do not keep silent, O God of my praise, for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause." Psalm 109:1-3 This is the generation characterized by those who call evil good and good evil. As America goes down, her evils are multiplied and believers who speak God's Word against the wicked are called "haters," along with the many other insults hurled against them. How has it become "hatred" when men simply speak the Word of God against sin? Well ...they hate the Word of God. It has become a CRIME to speak the Word of God against sin. Who ever would have believed it of the very nation established upon the Judeo-Christian ethic, the very Word of God. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;" Isaiah 5:20 What sin? Well let's look at the "theory" of evolution, for example. Actually, the theory of evolution is a Satanic lie; if one examines closely it will become apparent that the very opposite is the truth. The truth is that everything DEvolves. God created our world perfect, and said it was "good." But it's obvious that it is no longer so. What happened? Sin happened. Sin entered the perfect world. Adam was given authority over the earth, but Satan knew that if he could cause Adam to sin then Satan could usurp that authority. And so he did. When Adam sinned, the curse from sin came upon the entire earth and what was perfect began to deteriorate, the "death principle" set in. The death principle.... The corruption of DNA. Every living thing became subject to the death principle, and with every succeeding generation, the genes have mutated to the point where today, all is corrupt. What started out as perfect, now presents with innumerable genetically-caused diseases. Thousands of them. Genetic mutation has taken life from the realm of perfect, all the way to the corruption and afflictions in all that is seen today. It's not just human DNA that has degenerated. ALL living things have degenerated as the world lies in the corruption of the death principle. Society has become so wicked that one shudders to think what it will be if the degeneration is allowed to continue. It takes place little by little, almost imperceptibly, and because it's so unnoticeable the world is systematically desensitized to the point that we do not perceive what is happening at all and wickedness has become the "new normal." One of the "signs" signaling the last generation is that knowledge would greatly increase (Daniel 12:4). That certainly describes the age we live in today. A hundred years ago people were still riding horses and using oil lamps. Now we've put men on the moon. But has the great increase in knowledge produced a society improved? I suggest the very opposite is the case. As we've patted ourselves on the back for being a generation more advanced and "liberated" than any other in the history of mankind, we have chosen to ignore the downward slide that should be screaming at us, begging for our attention. No, in fact the increase in knowledge could lead to the destruction of all humanity. Manipulation of DNA could bring monstrosities and diseases never before known to man. A nuclear weapon in the hands of an evil nation could destroy a whole country, in fact it could end all life on this earth.The advancement in knowledge could wreak such havoc that men's hearts will fail them for fear as they see what is coming upon the earth. This very thing was prophesied by Jesus Christ concerning "the last days." "...men’s hearts failing them from fear and the anticipation of those things which are coming on the earth..." Luke 21:26 This is obviously the last generation of the age, as every sign that Jesus Christ foretold is now staring us in the face. Whereas in times past evil was perpetrated in secret, now it is all out in the open and demanding its acceptance - and not only acceptance, but is demanding the approval of society. Moral law is being thrown down and stomped on with scorning filthy feet. This is the day when the great and ferocious battle between good and evil is taking center stage. This is the day when evil will reign as Satan has his day and brings his kingdom to rule over all men under a global authority led by a man called “the Antichrist,” and a global false religion the Bible calls a "whore." That's where this is going. Soon. In our immediate future. We know the end of the story, we know that Satan will finally be destroyed off the face of the earth and he, along with his Antichrist and false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented forever for what they have done to God's creation. "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast (one of the names of the Antichrist) and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Revelation 20:10 And those who followed him will have the same fate. "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8 And so the story will end. Evil will finally come to its climax, reek unimaginable havoc, ruin multitudes, and leave a wake of destruction, but it will finally end when its hated enemy, the Lord of Glory, will return to this earth and put an end to all evil. Right now, there is nothing we can do to reverse the downward spiral. Prophecy will and must be fulfilled. But the one thing we CAN do is reach the hearts of people with this message and bring as many as are willing into the Kingdom of God. We can put our hand down into the fire and rescue them. "And on some have compassion, making a distinction, BUT OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR, PULLING THEM OUT OF THE FIRE, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." Jude 1:23 A Prayer: Father, as this age approaches its end and evil has taken over the whole world, we know that there is yet hope for deceived people to be brought into the truth and light of your Word. Grant your believers the power to reach their hearts and save them even as out of the fire so that they may be delivered from the wrath that is to come. Open hearts to the truth, Lord, and bring revival even as the world marches steadfastly toward the destruction that is coming. Oh Father, help us, enable us to rescue many of those falling to destruction, that they might be enlightened by your Word and that they might surrender to you. We thank you Lord for each and every soul that will triumph over the forces of evil meant to destroy them, and with them we will praise and thank you for all eternity.