false gods

Which God Do You Most Entertain?

Dr. Mike 2025 , , , ,

“‘You shall have no other gods before me.”   Deut. 5:7

Tell me your god and I will know more about you in the quickest amount of time. Whichever god you focus your attention on is a reflection of how you view life. Your beliefs, values, and practices are a byproduct of the god you entertain.

There are many gods in the world. They may be spirits, images, or even other people. They may be movements, religions or political affiliations. They probably represent something good in life. Faith, family, and country affiliation are some examples. Health, education, and career are some others.

You worship what your heart desires and longs for. For life is a constant process of making decisions on who you are going to serve.  Whatever becomes the center core of your life is the god you eventually entertain.

If money is your god, your values and practices will reflect your actions. You will pursue your god without ever finding full inner satisfaction. If your god is family, again your values and practices will reflect your actions. Family is a good thing. But you will likewise still find that inner hole empty and unsatisfied over the long haul if they are your central means of worship.

The list is endless. There are many gods seeking your attention and allegiance. But there is only one who will truly satisfy the thirst of your inner soul. The God-Man Jesus Christ. HE is the Incarnate Triune God.

When you come to know HIM, you come to the place where you realize your story has always included HIM. But you ignorantly never realized HE was always there.

As you refocus your heart, mind, and will toward HIM, you come to the place of inner peace, love, and joy. You realize when HE is first in your life, everything else falls into its proper priority. HE is the culmination of all the other good gods. HIS ways and purpose put to shame all the evil gods.

When HE gave this commandment to Moses, HE did so for our sake. HE knew what a mess we would become by pursuing all the other gods in this world. But HE also knew when you and I abide in HIM, life is much better.

So, take a hard look at the gods you entertain and serve. Which one has been good for you? Which one has robbed you of your freedom? Which one has enslaved you? Which one steals most of your time away from being the person God has made you to be?

After your evaluation period, compare your god with Jesus Christ. Read the Gospel of John in the Bible for yourself. Discover more about HIM and how HE wants what is best for you. Set aside the rumors and gossips of ignorant folks. They most likely are people who never stopped to investigate the real Jesus. Instead, accept HIS invitation to engage HIM in your daily life. Make HIM the core of your life and watch what a difference HE makes.

Yes, keep HIM before all the others and HE will help you keep all the other gods in their place of priority. In fact, when HE is your central command center, all other gods are aligned and eventually bow down their presence in serving HIM. HE brings out the best in all of us.        

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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False Prophets. False Teachers.

Dr. Mike 2023 , , , ,

Matthew 7:15

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

2 Peter 2:1-3

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 4:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Truth is a reflection of God’s character. Whenever we deviate from reality, we lean away from HIS solid foundation. This is why HE warns us of the dangers of following voices who do not represent HIM. The Bible identifies them as false prophets and teachers.

They look and sound good from the outside. They speak with a rhetoric tongue. Their narrative is package with emotional drama. They may even be sincere. But they don’t represent God Almighty. They are building a personal following for their gain.

When one deviates away from Jesus Christ, the outcome usually leads to destruction. The Bible has many historical situations where influencers misled the people. It generally starts with moral missteps. Followed by “new truth”. Then is attractively packaged and presented in a persuasive way. Then the momentum leads to carte blanche carnal behavior. The end result usually culminates in the destruction of a nation.

You look around today and witness similar destructive lies being fueled by greed. Like most tales, lies are blended with truth. When one doesn’t have a strong knowledge and relationship with the Triune God, one is swayed from such stories.

For example, climate change is happening. Yet the fear mongering and hysteria by greedy people are blinding sensible solutions to the issue. Is this God’s spirit in action or man’s profound attempt to personally gain at the expense of the masses?

Critical race theory, gender identity, and social justice are other teachings which deviate from the Bible’s instruction of productive living. They likewise have inklings of truth smothered by lies. Can you explain the difference between divine values and humanistic fantasy? You better know or find out the difference if you want to live a full, enjoyable life.

Yes false prophets are an issue today as in historical Biblical days. But as Jesus indicated, you will know them by their fruit. If they make a future proclamation that doesn’t happen, you know they are not of God. Does their work produce love, joy, and peace? Or is the outcome more hate, anger, and violence? If there walk doesn’t agree with their talk, than you know you are dealing with a liar. And yes, Jesus said there will be many who will follow their lead.

So, be careful. Study your Bible and history to learn from those who have gone before us. There is nothing new under the sun except technology and fashion. And even then, human nature continues to misbehave decade after decade. Only Jesus Christ and HIS Spirit can help keep you attuned to the truth. Observe the outcome of those who you listen too. Give them time to prove their words. When God is involve, HE will sustain them and bring about their vision. When God is not involved, hold unto HIM tightly as only human tragedy and carnage will come about from their actions. But HE will always be with you and direct your steps if you so allow.

Remember, truth is the reflection of God’s character. Always lean on HIM.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

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Idols

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , ,
“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 ESV

idols 1

What makes something an idol? Why is an idol so destructive in your life? Or is God simply on an ego trip?

Setting aside any religious understanding you may have on idols, let’s look at it from a practical point of view.

What was the first idol that appeared on the world scene? Would you believe it involved an archangel. The Bible states that God created Lucifer more beautiful than any other angel. However, rather than show gratitude to God and walk humbly with Him, Lucifer began to look at himself. He basically began to look at himself as superior to God. His pride turned himself into an idol. The result was a failed coup of heaven and banishment from authority within God’s domain.

What was Adam’s and Eve’s sin? Didn’t Eve make the forbidden fruit an idol? Rather than spend more time with God or Adam in developing their relationship, her focus became the fruit. Upon the Serpent’s temptation, she allowed the idol to supplant her relationship with The Lord. Like Satan before her, she wasn’t satisfied in keeping the relationship between her and The Lord in place. She was created to be like God, but limited in her physical attributes. She wanted more. She wanted to be more like God and took circumstances into her own hands to make it happen. She wasn’t going to wait for God to bring it about in his way and schedule. Her idol became her Achilles heel.

An idol is simply anything that comes before God. Generally speaking, idols really don’t exist anywhere but in our hearts and mind. Whatever takes the place of God in our worship, love, and passion is a candidate to become an idol. Money, power, sex, food, friends, family, country, religion, science, are some of the candidates that we convert into idols. By themselves, they are usually neutral and generally very good for our well-being. However, whenever they become more important in our life than the Triune God, we have crossed over into idol worship.

The result of idol worship is generally a kick in the pants. Idols are false strongholds that empower us away from God and reality. God has designed a divine order in how life works. When we build our life outside of his order, holes and craters will appear. The result is usually pain and sorrow and maybe even premature death.

God created us. He made us to worship him. He designed us to walk with Jesus Christ. He encased us to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Like any healthy marriage relationship, a third-party (mistress) takes away the intimacy between the two. The same is true when an idol comes between our Heavenly God and ourselves.

You may not recognize the idols in your life. God does. He knows your spiritual condition. That is why I am most grateful for Jesus Christ. His act of justification on our behalf and the outpouring of his grace only demonstrates his awesome love for us. I for one am thankful that he cares enough for us that he takes the time to help destroy the idols in our lives. We may not like the process, but the fruit at the end of the day is most scrumptious.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Chair, Consultant, Encourager
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
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* Simply The Messenger
* Unequally Married