WHAT ARE YOUR TIN GODS?

We read about the kings of the Bible in the Old Testament. We see how some of them follow God – at first – then turn their backs on Him. They turn away and start to worship alien gods or tin gods such as the Baals.

“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals” (1 Kings 18:18 NIV).

God waits until they are desperate and calling for Him. Then God answers. They come back to worship Him.

But this cycle repeats itself over and over again.

We think, “How can they be so stupid turning to those tin gods or alien gods?”.

Then I look at my life and your life and think –

Do we have tin gods?

What pulls me away from studying His Word?

What pulls me away from praying?

What pulls me away from helping others?

There was an email circulating years ago called Satan’s Meeting. In it Satan wrote to his devil helpers. He encouraged them to keep humans busy, all the time … doing and doing and doing. In that way humans became so focused on themselves and all their activities they forgot about God.

That letter had an impact on my life.

Today I will reprint part it here so you can pray about anything that might be your “tin god” – something that keeps you away from connecting with God.

Next week I will continue…

It is called Satan’s Meeting:

SATAN’S MEETING

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said:

“We can’t keep Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Saviour. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.”

PAUSE

“So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but STEAL THEIR TIME, so they don’t have time to DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ.”

He continues:

“This is what I want you to do,” said the devil: “DISTRACT them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”

Do you have anything that distracts from your connection to God? If so, what can you do about it? Any ideas. I would love to hear from you.

Prayer:

Father, we want to connect with you. Show us our tin gods so we can turn away from them and to You. Help us to find time to connect with You. Show us how. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

Gratitude List:

My Gratitude list for this week: Counting to 2000 and connecting to Ann Voskamp’s Multitude of Mondays.

What a VIBE (VBS) week!

volunteers – so appreciated
beautiful weather
perfect Sabbath rest at the end
sermon on Creation Foundations
clear head to start preparations for my mission trip to Poland (July 17th)

early morning sunshine; stillness
great dollar store in town called Needful Things
endorsements for my children’s book, Tadeo Turtle

made 3 little pigs puppets and 1 big bad wolf puppet for Poland

beautiful walking weather
going out on the boat with my hubby
saw a loon very close to our boat

saw a seagull dive and come up with a fish in its mouth
saw a heron land in the marsh and then walk along
oh that I would remember my camera but thankful for my memory

Jan Cox

Jan, a former school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. She has published two devotionals and a number of articles for magazines and a Bible study. She is owner of Under the Cover of Prayer and moderates the site. She also writes at A Better Way. Jan has completed a children’s book called Tadeo Turtle. She is the watercolour illustrator. Word Alive will be publishing this story and it will be available later this summer. See more about Tadeo at Jan’s Website.