Dumb Idols Don’t Speak

A boy once asked his mother for a bicycle. She replied, “Maybe if you pray, God will bring you one.” So he knelt and prayed, “God, if You give me a bike, I won’t sin for a year.” The boy then walked outside and saw his mother’s statue of the Virgin Mary. Suddenly, he felt guilty because he couldn't avoid sinning for that long. Instead, he grabbed the statue, hid it in his toy box, and declared, “God, if You ever want to see Your mother again, give me a bike!”

Some God-fearing people own replicas of Mary, Jesus, or other characters in the Bible. It’s one thing to honor the Lord or departed saints. It’s another to bow down to statues that have no power. The Bible calls that idolatry. 1 Corinthians 6:9, Ephesians 5:5, and Galatians 5:20 say that no idolaters will inherit the kingdom of God.


It amazes me how some people can worship idols or figurines that are just plain ugly. Not far from my former home church and a friend’s place in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, there’s a building once occupied by another church that I visited a time or two. It’s since been converted into a Buddhist temple. All over the property are statues of Arahats, a title given to Buddhist “saints.” I’ve also been in Asian businesses with Buddha statues on display. It reminds me of this paragraph written by the late Norvel Hayes in his book “Worship”:


“If I was going to worship any other god besides Jesus, I think I could find somebody that looked a little better than Buddha. I mean, if you are going to be deceived, you might as well be deceived in a nicer way. How people can ever worship him is beyond my understanding. I guess they do it because their parents taught them to. Everything produces after its own kind.”


Jeremiah 10:8, 18:15, and Jonah 2:8 call idols “worthless.” They don’t speak themselves, but they can open doors to demonic spirits assigned to them. Zechariah 10:2 in the New Living Translation says, “Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.” I knew a woman in Florida who had idols in her home. A friend and I convinced her to do some spiritual housecleaning. We took those idols and destroyed them in a bonfire.


Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” People who had visions of the Lord testified to how beautiful He is. However, He wasn’t pleasant to look at during the crucifixion. Isaiah 52:14 says, “Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” He took the punishment for our sins so we won’t have to suffer for eternity. 


Don’t be led astray by dumb idols. The alternative is so much better.


“You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” - 1 Corinthians 12:2-3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gospel Soul Winning Script

Image
During my early days with evangelism, I developed an approach called the Survey Technique . By asking short direct questions, you can maintain control of the conversation and find out quickly what a person’s spiritual beliefs are. Although the Survey Technique has helped me lead thousands to the Lord, I’m still open to utilizing new methods in reaching people with the gospel. Rodney Howard-Browne 's ministry uses a tool called the Gospel Soul-Winning Script , which originated during their Good News New York campaign in 1999. I became familiar with it a few years later during evangelism outreaches with Rodney’s church in Tampa, Florida. At first, I resisted using the script. I found it restrictive and thought sinners wouldn’t be receptive to me reading the whole thing to them. Then while taking part in a 2009 outreach with Rodney’s ministry in Washington, D.C., my team leader asked me to “stick with the script.” Wanting to maintain unity, I complied with his request. Initially it fe
Read more

Toking the Ghost Revisited

Image
Back in February 2007, a fellow missionary I was traveling with started talking about “smoking the weed from heaven.”   He would pretend to have a joint of marijuana between his fingers and have “smoke breaks with Jesus.”   He also encouraged other believers to take “hits.”   I was a bit uncomfortable with this idea but didn't contest it. Then in October of that year, I heard John Crowder preach on “toking the Ghost” at a church in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota.   I was inspired to make a video with John to share with my missionary friend.   During the filming, I experienced much laughter. I decided to make the video public figuring other people might enjoy it also. Two weeks later at a church in Minnesota, I heard Benjamin Dunn share testimonies of people getting healed from “toking the Ghost.”   This was just before he and John Crowder started ministering together.   I believed this was God confirming His word in the mouth of two or three witnesses.  
Read more

A Tribute to Al Best

Image
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. This tribute is for one who went home to be with the Lord last Sunday. Al Best oversaw Light in Anoka Church in a northern suburb of Minneapolis. Originally from Florida, Al first gave his life to the Lord at 17 but then backslid. Meanwhile, he served 21 years in the Navy and worked various jobs. That included selling Rainbow vacuum cleaners. I would eventually get to know his sales manager. Eric Gonyon became an associate pastor at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church (I usually attend services there when in Tampa).  A few years after recommitting his life to the Lord, Al became a pastor. In 2007, the Lord directed him to head north to Minnesota, where his wife Jean is from. First, they ministered in the small town of Dassel. What started as a youth mission transitioned into regular services for all ages. Then in 2016, Al and Jean moved to Anoka to take on a church originally called New Day Fellowship. To counter the city’s motto as the “Halloween Ca
Read more