One-a-Day...for the Heart: No Other Gods
"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.” That was the first of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses, recorded in Exodus 20:1-17 (NJKV). Secondly, the Lord said, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them."
There are gods—millions of false, pagan gods, and there is GOD—the only true God, as Jesus said in John 17:3. Father God is also the only wise God, as recorded in 1 Timothy 1:17 (KJV), Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Those are the words of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, but what did the Lord God say about Himself? Isaiah 44:6-8 (NLT) tells us in no uncertain terms: This is what the Lord says—Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven's Armies: "I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future. Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!"
When Adam and Eve sinned and set the course of humankind on a twisted, winding path of rebellion and sin, God must have known that people would want something tangible to hold onto, like a carved image, statue, beautiful stone, or similar item to cling to and believe in. They would want anything to fill the dreadful void in their hearts, suffering the anguish of God’s absence.
Carved images and items are not the one true God. They cannot possess the wisdom of the only wise God. They cannot give eternal life. They do not hold the promise of heaven for those who cling to them for security, peace, help, and comfort. That is why the Lord God warned His people to make no carved images or to bow down and serve them. They offer, at best, false hope, for they are based on the lies and deception of the devil, who is the father of lies.
No pagan god is like you, O Lord. NONE can do what you do!...For You are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God, King David wrote in Psalm 86:8,10 (NLT). As the Lord God described Himself, He said, “Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power.” This was the clincher, for power belongs to God (Psalm 62:10). Signs, wonders, and miracles happen when God’s dunamis power is released, but the ultimate expression of God’s power is the resurrection of life. No other god can resurrect the dead and place them in an eternal home of peace and joy.
Nirvana, the final goal of Buddhism, promises to be a place of no suffering, but no one can enjoy eternal peace and rest except in God’s glorious presence in heaven. Every other place of tranquility and rest is a lie. There is no other way to get to heaven except through Jesus Christ, His Son. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The many gods and goddesses of Hinduism will disappoint too when the most devout Hindu dies, for if he dies without acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Son of God and receiving Him as Lord and Savior, NONE of the thousands and even millions (as some sources say) of Hindu gods or goddesses can do anything to get a dead man to spend eternity with the only true God.
Flirting with any pagan god is dangerous, and God forbids it. He does not want anyone to perish and spend eternity in hell by getting hooked on false religions and deception. Many Christians fall prey to subtle lies of the enemy when they engage in occult practices that seem harmless and innocent. “Christian yoga” is an oxymoron, for no matter how Christianized the music or background mood of the yoga setting is, a person practicing yoga may be “yoking with” or joining himself to demonic spirits behind the false gods of Hinduism. Unknowingly, one can be yoked with a “universal consciousness” and merge the soul with it.
When I played the Ouija board as a teenager, I did not deliberately set out to engage in the occult. Still, I did cross the line into occult activity by participating in the game. I have long since repented of it and renounced any demonic spirits I may have invited. The things we do naively and without understanding are taken very seriously by the enemy of our souls.
Some Hindus report up to 330 million gods and goddesses in their faith; some 33 to 3003. Many yoga poses are designed to worship specific yoga gods and goddesses. Then the yoking or uniting begins. Before long, the Christian’s interest in Bible and prayer lessen, and a slow-but-steady spiral down and away from the things of the Lord can occur as the mind gets more and more influenced by the demonic. Derek Prince, the great Bible scholar and teacher, told of his battle with depression, for which he sought the Lord’s help. The spirit of heaviness, which is what the Bible calls depression, had entered Derek when he became a practicing yogi. Upon renouncing it and repenting of his involvement in the occult, the heavy spirit left him, and the depression lifted. He advised people to never participate in yoga on any level.
Involvement in the practice of using healing crystals is another area of deception. Putting faith in the false power of a crystal to heal or bring peace is turning to something other than the one true God. Again, the person doing this opens himself to a demonic realm of oppression. Because he seeks help from the crystal’s magical powers, he is manipulating situations through objects, not the one true God. He is saying no to God’s Holy Spirit to heal and bring peace and yes to demonic spirits to help him. The danger is great—once again, the person has crossed the line and entered the occult arena where witchcraft, rebellion, and spiritual and physical death may occur. The deterioration of spirit and soul that begins the further one moves away from the one true God can have devastating effects.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Those are the words of our loving heavenly Father. He loves us so much He could not bear the thought of sending us to an eternity in hell, so He gave up His Son and allowed Him to die a horrible death so we wouldn’t have to go to a place of eternal torment. No other god has ever done that. Why then would we ever look to any of them for anything?
Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Period. No other gods--just the one true God, the only wise God.
© 2023, Chris Custer Werre