Most have heard the account of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32, where the Israelites built a calf made of gold, while Moses was away with God in the mountain. The people became impatient, and created their own God made of gold.

Exodus 32:1-4 says, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Where would they have obtained the gold? You may recall from Exodus 12:36, “The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!” God provided this wealth (gold) to them through the Egyptians.

There are many parallels we can draw between this account and modern times. Even though we do not call them gods, how different is it for people in today’s world to take the resources God gave them and create their own Gods in the forms of sports cars, homes, boats, sports, or other activities that become the primary object of their attention, time, and money. Rather than thank God for the circumstances that allowed them to have these things, they displace God with the things he provides.

A friend recently described it like this. “Everything we have is either a tool, for God’s will, or an idol.”

Dear Lord, you provide all that we have and these blessings should be reason for us to worship, praise and thank you with our attention, time, and money. Help us recognize the blessings we have that they may reinforce our faith in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You may have hear the Native American story that goes like this.

A Grandfather told his grandson.

“There is a battle going on inside every human. Including you. It’s a battle of two wolves — a dark and a light wolf. The dark wolf represents envy, arrogance, anxiety, ego, inferiority, regret, greed, self-pity, guilt, false pride, fear, pain, anger, jealousy, rage; the light wolf represents love, peace, humility, kindness, serenity, generosity, trust, tranquility, compassion, empathy, joy, gratitude.”

After some silence, the grandson asks, “Grandpa, which wolf wins?”

The Grandfather responds slowly, “Whichever one you choose to feed.”

I think this story is an interesting parallel to the “Fruit of the Spirit” in Paul’s letter, Galatians 5:19-23, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

This is the battle going on inside each of us; between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit in us. Which will win? The one we feed.

Dear Lord, help us recognize the conflict inside ourselves and choose to feed and follow the Spirit to live our lives filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I have heard it said that your life is like an echo, what you send out comes back to you, or like a mirror, a reflection of you.

Paul writes in his letter to Titus 1:15, “A person who is pure of heart sees goodness and purity in everything; but a person whose own heart is evil and untrusting finds evil in everything, for his dirty mind and rebellious heart color all he sees and hears.”

I imagine you have met both kinds of people, those that look for the best in everything, and have good positive attitudes, and those that see the negative and problems in every experience. How interesting that they both can be looking at the same situation and see such different pictures. The verse above from Paul’s letter to Titus tells us that the way people look at a situation is an indication of what is in their own heart and mind. How they look at things is as much a statement on themselves as it is a statement on the people or things about which they are commenting.

Dear Lord, help us be people of pure hearts and find the goodness and purity you have put in our world. Help us also be a positive influence on those with evil and untrusting hearts, that they might see your love through us and desire to change. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Luke 13:10-13 “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God!”

Upon reading this text, it made me wonder, “How do we determine if physical problem is caused by an evil spirit or is an illness is with a different cause?” After studying the Bible to learn the answer this question, I thought, “Does it matter, the cause of the ailment?” What matters is that God is the cure.

When we or others face ailments, our hope should be in God for relief, cure or restoration. There is nothing, including death, that is beyond his power.

Dear Lord, You have power over all. No sickness, malady, or demon is beyond your control. Help us remember to put our faith and hope in your saving and restoring power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you ever said, or heard someone say, “who’s going to know?” just before doing something they would be embarrassed to have their friends or family see.

We have to realize that the most important evaluator of each of us sees everything we do. In Hebrews 4:13 Paul writes, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

I heard some good advice somewhere along the way. “Don’t do anything that you aren’t prepared to have printed on the front page of the newspaper.” In a way everything we do is on the front page of God’s newspaper. We would be better off if we thought about that regularly.

Dear Lord, we cannot keep anything from you. There is no hiding, rationalizing, or making excuses. You know what we have done, and our motives for doing it. Help us remember you are watching. We have no chance of meeting your standard of perfection, but if we confess and repent, Jesus’ perfection stands in our place. What an incredible gift. Help us go forward striving to do better. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.