15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. 19 O house of Israel, praise the LORD; O house of Aaron, praise the LORD; 20 O house of Levi, praise the LORD; you who fear him, praise the LORD. 21 Praise be to the LORD from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

I once heard someone say that no man rises above the God (god) he serves. This is exactly why Paul says in Romans 1 that those who did not recognize God as God or give him thanks became futile in their speculation and went from bad to worse. When we create our own go ds we are actually making ourselves as god. We fashion them to fit our thinking and our priorities. We make them serve our needs and our agenda. We then deceive ourselves into believing these idols are really gods that can actually help us. We may form them to fit the image we have in our mind of what God is supposed to be or look like or act like but they are not capable of speaking, seeing, hearing or breathing. We are serving ourselves and denying the only God that really exists. Some are thinking that they would never actually do this. After all, I believe in the God of the Bible. I go to a church that serves him. How do we form these gods without even knowing we are doing it? We get so caught up in the cares and affairs of this world that we forget to thank God and to cultivate our relationship with him thru prayer and study of his word. It is amazing how some are not able to remember scripture but have no trouble remembering stats about their favorite sports team.

They cannot remember where in the Bible a certain character is found or story is told but can detail entire videos and songs by their favorite entertainers. We cannot understand scripture and how it relates to our lives but can spend hours and write volumes about our political agenda and how it makes us or destroys us. This is not to say that any of these things are wrong in themselves but when these things consume us and determine the direction of our lives (it was Jesus who said that a man's behavior is determined by what fills his heart) have we not made these gods? While each of us has our passions and our enjoyments we must remember that God alone is God and that he is in control of all things. He alone deserves our allegiance, our devotion, our praise and our thanksgiving. How do we praise the Lord? We do this best, not in words alone but when we submit our will and our lives to his will for us. C.S. Lewis once said that our faith is best demonstrated when we can see no reason to serve and trust God but we do so anyway (paraphrase). We trust him and live for him because he is God! While God loves each of us individually and wants what is best for us and promises to take care of our needs, it is not about what he can do for us. We serve him, not the other way around. Praise the Lord for he is God!

O God, the only true God, I offer you my praise today. I know that you are all wise and in your wisdom have created all things, including me. Increase my commitment to trust you in all things and mold me into your likeness. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can know your love and share it with others. Give me kindness, patience, humility and compassion. Help me to have wisdom to devote my heart to you by spending more time in your word and talking with you. Help me to listen, to really listen to you so that I can live your will. I really do want to be like Jesus but fail too often. Forgive me. In his name I pray.

May God bless each of us as we recognize and serve him as the only true God.