#DailyDevotion Are You Destroying The High Places In Your Heart?
October 14
Deut 12:13–32
Deu 12:29-30 “When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, (30) take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’
Israel was supposed to rid the land of the people and their false gods. They did so to a great extant but it was never complete. Even up to the time of David and Solomon during the period of the judges, Israel would adopt the false gods of the inhabitants of the land, then the Lord would send punishment upon them, they would cry out and the Lord would send a judge to save them.
The Solomon adopted a lot of the practices of his many pagan wives and concubines. The people in the country would not remain faithful only to the Lord but adopted many of the gods of the land alongside the Lord. The northern kingdom would also do the same until such time as the Assyrians came and exiled them from the land.
What can we learn from this? Christianity is meant to be counter cultural or at least not worldly. It should not look to the world as to how it should worship the Lord Jesus Christ. What would they know about it. They don’t even know the Lord or the Father of lights. No we should not adopt their ways lest we be carried away and end up in the same mire that the world is wrapped up in. Perhaps we will not be worshipping Baal, Ashtoreth, Zeus, Odin, Gaia or the like. But the several gods of this age upon which the world sacrifices all for is Wealth, Happiness and Love. If our Christianity gets in the way of getting these things, if our faith contradicts the means by which we see ourselves losing these things, then we will make friends with the world and adopt their ways to gain these gods who promise us so much. Yet, whatever these gods promise is temporary, fading, and racing away from us. They will never satisfy us and they will demand eventually we sacrifice everything for them including our faith in Jesus.
To prevent this, we must always hold fast the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit. The faith in which Jesus Christ has suffered all for us and bids us to join in his suffering, that on the day of his return, a kingdom which has no end will be given to us. Everything we ever thought we wanted out of this life and everything we ever lost in this life for Christ’s sake, as our purified desired will want it at that time. Everything Jesus has promised to the faithful is being kept safe for them in heaven. Everything promised will be delivered and fulfilled on that day by Jesus. What Jesus gives us is forever, can never be taken away, lost, stolen, break or rot. Indeed the greatest thing he gives to us is himself, the Father and the Holy Spirit, live in and with them.
Heavenly Father, grant us such repentance and faith that we root out all false gods from our hearts and may we only have the living Spirit making his dwelling there that we may rejoice in the Lord always, be content in this life supremely happy in the life to come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.