July 1, 2022 – Click here to listen
A friend wrote me the other day about some strange occurrences going on in various places around the world. She sent me news articles about a rock in Mexico (or somewhere) that supposedly had developed an image of Jesus on it. People were flocking from miles around to go there to see it, light candles, and leave bouquets of flowers and worship, and she wanted to know what I thought of it.
My response was I didn’t think so much about it. I don’t think the image was put there by God because it is counter to His nature. God doesn’t want images made of Him. He is Spirit and far more than wood or stone and we are instructed not to make an image of Him and worship it or any idol. We are to worship Him in Spirit.
Throughout mankind, the tendency has been for humanity to worship various idols. Even when Moses went up on the mountain to receive God’s laws and was gone for just a short period of time, the people got tired of waiting for him to come back down and under the leadership of Moses’ own brother (Aaron) they made an image of a golden calf and then danced about it wildly. They worshipped it, and it turned into an orgy before it was over.
These people had seen firsthand and experienced the miracles of God freeing them from bondage in Egypt and day in and day out thereafter. Certainly, Aaron, the temporary leader in charge, knew better, but they all followed a fleshly desire to worship an object rather than God. God was deeply offended and if it had not been for the pleading of Moses would have likely destroyed them all as a result. (Prayer works!)
To this day one of the absolute worst feelings that I have ever experienced was in India. Our host took us to a Hindu temple. It was a thing of beauty and quite the tourist attraction. We were asked to remove our shoes and went inside to take a look and the people were going through a line, (which we got in). As we got closer to the end of the line, I noticed there were several guys dressed up in robes with shaved heads, and they were dancing around in time to some eerie-sounding music. They were chanting, throwing sprinkles of water at those in line and pungent incense filled the air.
There was an image of a huge bull’s head made of gold hanging on the wall. The bull had numerous leis or necklaces of cut flowers around its neck and was bejeweled. The “priests” were dancing around throwing sprinkles of water and flower petals on it and worshipping it. The people in line were being given little pieces of bread by the priests to eat and they were praying to this image.
I felt like I was in Hell itself and I shot out of there like a meteor. I literally ran out of the marble hallway in my stocking feet and collected my shoes without breaking stride and did not stop until I was well outside. I put my shoes back on as quickly as I could and ran down the stairs and did not stop until I got to our car in the parking lot where I waited on them. My chest was burning from the exercise, but I was out of there and breathed a big sigh of relief. I’m sure my host was either deeply offended, or he excused my behavior because he thought I was insane. I didn’t care! I had a horrible feeling being in there and the entire scene just felt satanic.
If people want to be around God, they don’t need to make a pilgrimage to Mecca or some hard-to-reach destination in South America where an image has supposedly appeared on a rock, statue of the Virgin Mary, or window. These same people could go to church or Bible study, or simply sit at their desk and say a prayer and God will be right there. The Bible states that whenever two people have gathered in His name He is there here with us. One can feel His presence in church, but we don’t have to be in church to discover the presence of God.
He has promised to be with us always, even to the end of time and throughout eternity. He is Spirit and is everywhere, and we can look at the sky, mountains, ocean, rivers, plains, birds, animals, flowers, or wherever to see His handiwork. One of the Ten Commandments is not to make or worship any graven image or idols. God is serious about this as we should be serious about it.
Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourselves 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 or serve them.
For I the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
but showing mercy to thousands to those who love Me
and keep my commandments.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!