Wednesday, October 31: Isaiah 44- God alone.

The heart of this chapter is a declaration by God that He alone is God. As part of God's call to Israel, God challenges the efficacy of idols by illustrating their origins. Here is a snippet of God's challenge. They [idols] know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?" Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?" (18-20).

What an illustration. How can you make an idol out of a piece of wood and then use the leftover wood to cook your meal or warm your camp? Do you really think that fashioned piece of wood has spiritual power? God mocks Israel for believing so and calls them back home to Him, the one true God.

Today the idols I am tempted to trust in are not statues of wood or stone (although in parts of the world such temptations still exists).  What I am tempted to trust in is my education, my bank & retirement accounts, modern medicine, and other trappings of upper-middle class American life. Mind you, none of the middle class American life blessings I mentioned are bad in and of themselves.  However, when they become my trust, and my go-to for protection, they become my god because they command the majority of my attention, then I am flirting with danger.

Jesus reminds us, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

God invites us to treasure Him, to think on Him, to love and trust in Him...

Lord God, be the center of my life. Be my first thought of the day and my last thought at night. Guide me and lead me until you take me home to be with You forever. Through Jesus Christ, my Lord, I pray. Amen.