Faith accesses what the Lord has provided, but it was our need that caused Him to act. He was and still is moved with compassion because humanity desperately needs Him.

Psalm 12:5

Now the question remains; should we be moved by need? Should we arise because the poor are oppressed and respond to the groans of the needy? I believe a resounding YES is in order – absolutely YES!

How will the Lord meet the needs of the world unless His body is moved by them? This is why we go to the nations with the gospel, this is why we reach out to lift up the oppressed, this is what we do, and we realize faith is mankind’s greatest need.

I pray that you will be moved today by the needs around you, and may those needs drive you to the One who has all the answers.

Job 13:16

This friends is why salvation is a must! Without Christ, we are polluted and godless and cannot come before Almighty God. There’s no approaching Him apart from a Savior, and the Savior Jesus is the only source for true salvation. Only through Christ can we be cleansed from the pollution that defiles us and makes us unfit for fellowship with the Holy God who created us.

Dear friend in Christ, aren’t you glad you’re not polluted or godless? Or, if you don’t know Jesus, why remain polluted and godless? Why not receive salvation today?

Paul Rai graduated from our very first session of Ambassador Academy in Sikkim. Upon graduation, Paul returned to his village in Nepal where he has planted a fellowship of growing believers who are reaching out to those who don’t yet know Christ. Get to know more about his ministry in this short video:

1. Never make the blessing of God in your life dependent on anyone else.
2. Accept people for who they are, and allow grace to flow from you to them.
3. When there’s a conflict of interest between you and someone else, pray first and then respond.

Here is one of the saddest examples of a polluted perspective that I’ve found in scripture.

Esther 5:13

That describes a man out of control, totally given over to ungodly passion, who’s entire perspective on life had become tainted.

Your perspective will shape your attitudes, your attitudes will control your thinking, and your thinking will ultimately determine what you have. And that pretty much sums up your path in life.

P – perspective
A – attitude
T – thinking
H – have

Take healing for example. It’s a big deal, important and worth emphasis. But size it up to The Almighty and it’s just one more small piece of His infinite goodness, and really not as BIG a deal as we sometimes make it.

Healing, like all other blessings, can become just another idol if they get too big in our estimation. This is why in 2 Kings 18:4 it is written,

The object that signified the healing power of God. The bronze serpent on the pole; what had it become? A bronze trifle, and it had to be destroyed. The people began to worship healing rather than the healer.

Just make sure it’s Jesus that’s the BIG deal in your life, nothing else…Just Him!

This is dangerous ground friend, and intolerable to our King.

2 Kings 2:33 says,

What an interesting mix, and still very common today. How many a “God fearin’ folk” have tried to find a way to do both, fear Him and serve their own gods as well. It never works though; Jesus said you can only have one master. At some point every person must choose.

The true fear of God will cause us to put away every other god, and give no place to the devil. The false gods of entertainment, sensuality, materialism and self-righteousness will all have to bow.

Let’s fear the Lord and serve Him only! To fear Him and to serve something else is to serve Him in vain, a terrible deception, and that friends is to tread on very dangerous ground.

In scripture, we see the subtle influence false god’s began to have in Israel among God’s covenant people. The three primary ones are identified in 1 Kings 11:33:

In brief study, I’ve found the following insights in regard to these three idols:

• Ashtoreth - the false goddess of love and increase
• Chemosh – the false god of power
• Milcom/Molech - the false god of protection

The worship of these three particular idols, form which spawn all others, produced terrible consequences. One of which is identified in the preceding verses of the above scripture; national destruction. In other words, nations were destroyed because of the worship of these three false gods.

Today, false gods and idolatry are still destroying nations. Though these false deities are disguised in various forms, the bend toward them is evident throughout society. Man seeks after love, sexual pleasure and material increase in worship of Ashtoreth, man seeks after power and political might in worship of Chemosh, and man seeks worldly security and protection just as men of old worship Milcom.

Worshipping idols comes with a terrible price tag because Satan seeks to steel, kill and destroy. Only in worship to the true God will we ever experience the fulfillment that Satan offers in deceit. Love, power, and protection are available, but only the true God of heaven and earth can supply them.

Remember: an idol is anything that takes the place of God in our lives, and idols cannot – must not be tolerated.

I was reminded of this truth from an example found in Joab’s life, and especially these verses in 2 Samuel 12:27-28, which say:

What an awesome display of not-so-common loyalty. Joab had a heart to exalt his king and not his own name. How easy it would have been for Joab to take the credit, but even though the credit was due him he wanted the king to get the glory.

I believe the road of humility is a road well chosen, where we’re not interested or focused on ourselves, but always ready to default all glory and honor to King Jesus. After all, it’s His name we’re building for and it is His Kingdom.