The following devotion was written by Woodrow “Woody” Crabtree, Dolores’ husband. Woody submitted a devotion previously, and he wanted to share this one with the Hillside Family. The title was added by me.
What’s Your Idols?
The computer is one of the greatest inventions ever created by mankind. We have programmed it to solve the most complex problems, store important information, and with the addition of the Internet computers have made the planet a much smaller place to live. Never before has our entire world been dominated by a single machine.
The Internet has everything our hearts desire: entertainment, advice, information, pornography, etc. With the Internet you can buy or sell your home, invest in the stock market, pay your bills, even steal another person’s identity. The computer has made our lives easier, and it has infiltrated every part of our lives. Question: has mankind made the computer an idol to be worshiped?
When God gave His instruction to Moses and the Israelites after their Exodus from Egypt, the first thing He told them was this:
And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
— Exodus 20:1-3 (NKJV)
God gave His people this commandment because He knew they would be tempted to serve the pagan gods of the cultures surrounding them. There were many gods and idols that represented different aspects of life. Fertility gods were to be worshiped in order to bring abundant crops and help women conceive. Other gods were worshiped in order to provide riches, military victory, love, etc. The most common pagan gods mentioned in the Old Testament were the Canaanite goddess Asherah and her husband Baal. We see throughout the Old Testament that the people of Israel turned away from Almighty God and worshiped idols.
Today we still need to beware the sin of idolatry. God’s command you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:5) still applies today. There are many idols that tempt us to turn away from God. Our culture exalts sex, money, power, fame, leisure, and popularity. These are seemingly harmless traps that Satan uses to draw us away from the One, True God.
Open your eyes, people! The Lord God wants to do great things for you. Psalm 119:18 says, “Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from you.” Idols cannot do wondrous things. Idols cannot save your soul. When we choose to serve idols over worshiping God all we are doing is deceiving ourselves. Isaiah 44:9-10 reads, “All who make idols are nothing and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and cast an idol which can profit nothing?”
Satan’s purpose is to deceive mankind into worshiping anything except Almighty God. He knows that the Lord is the only One who can save us from sin, death, and hell. It was Jesus who paid the ultimate price to set us free from sin. It is his blood that washes away our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. No idol can redeem us from sin and bring salvation.
Open your eyes; don’t be blind to the truth. Ask the Lord to come into you heart, for without Him you are lost. He is knocking on the door of your heart. Let Him in, for He is the only One who can bring salvation. Without Him you are lost.
Woody shared this devotion with me, and I wanted to share it with you. I made a few adjustments to the text, but the general idea is his. We all know how easy it is to be led astray by the various idols Satan puts in front of us. Let us place our faith in Jesus Christ alone, for only He can save our souls.
Your servant in Christ,
pastor Mike