1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 

Today's Thought: Knowing the Lord Jesus Christ keeps us from following after idols and other things of the world.


Hideyoshi, a Japanese warlord who ruled over Japan in the late 1500s, commissioned a colossal statue of Buddha for a shrine in Kyoto. It took 50,000 men five years to build, but the work had scarcely been completed when the earthquake of 1596 brought the roof of the shrine crashing down and wrecked the statue. In a rage Hideyoshi shot an arrow at the fallen colossus. "I put you here at great expense," he shouted, "and you can't even look after your own temple." (Today in the Word, MBI, August, 1991, p. 23.)

We may not worship false gods, but we face false gods in our values - materialism, self image, security, leisure, sensuality, among others. If our lives revolve on something more than God, then we are worshiping idols in our lives. John the Beloved reminded Christian believers to keep themselves from all appearance of anything or anyone that may stop them from worshiping the true God.

Let us be diligent to consider the idols in our lives. Let us uproot them and shoot arrow at them before they take possession of our hearts and led us astray from the presence of the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:3

For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Today's Thought: God's Word and grace can only grow in our hearts if we are willing and ready for its nourishment.


One of the basics in farming is breaking the ground and preparing it for the sowing of seeds. A wise farmer would not plant on a hard ground, but will make sure that the ground is properly broken and soil nutrients are mixed and distributed throughout. It takes patience and labor to prepare the ground for the seeds.

This is also the process of our hearts for the Word of God and His matchless grace. We need to break our hearts, get rid of weeds of sins growing, thoroughly mix the soil, and make sure the sun and air are able to pass through freely. Only then will the Word of God can take root in our hearts. It will be a laborious process, for sure, but it will make sure that the Word of God can find a place in our hearts and grow thereby.

If we want to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to labor. We need to rid of the sins growing in our garden. We need to labor in reading the Word of God. We need to be patient in our prayers. And we need to be open to the leading of the Lord.

Isaiah 65:2

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

Today's Thought: Rebellion against the Lord is punishable, but several Christians are rebels without a cause.


Rebellion is an open resistance against established authority characterized by disobedience of orders and commands. In most countries, rebellion is a crime punishable with the highest degree including death by hanging or even firing squad. Because rebellion is an affront against the authority or the government, it should also be treated with graver punishment.

Several Christians are rebelling against the Lord, their God, the King of kings. They don't want to follow the orders given by the Lord. It is an affront to the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. If earthly authorities punish rebellion with the gravest degree, the Lord also punishes rebellion accordingly. Rebellion against the Lord is punishable by death as shown by the example of Dathan and Abiram, or by exile and misery as experienced by Israel, or by emotional struggle as dealt by David, or even by a prolonged punishment up to sons and grandsons.

Rebellion is a serious offense that Christians should not take lightly. God is not mocked; His commands and orders are not vested only by temporal powers, but by the Might of all might. It is a fearful thing, as always, to fall in the hands of God for our rebellion.

Lamentations 1:18

The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

Today's Thought: Do not dig up a grave for your fall.


You are digging your own grave. These are words to describe how a person is destroying himself unassisted by others. It is like a death sentence and yet you are the one signing the order. It is a common scene in movies and villainy characters would often employ this to threaten the protagonist. But Christians are protagonists who are digging their own graves as well.

You and I know that the Lord is righteous. And because He is righteous, He will not do anything that would put us harm for His thoughts toward us are always good. Yet, in this passage of the Bible the righteousness of God is paired with the rebellion of the nation of Israel, their captivity and their ruin. Jeremiah acknowledges that it is the fault of man when he is in deep sorrow and pain. The trials of the Lord are always within His grace and what man can bear. But the punishments of the Lord are always severe and almost unbearable, even death.

Let us always remember how righteous the Lord is. This righteousness should keep us in His presence. Let us not look for ways that could lead us to ruin. But let us be diligent in our well-doing as much as we know that the Lord will one day reward us.

1 Chronicles 29:3

Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

Today's Thought: The way you look at the house of God reflects the way you look at God Himself.


Title 4 of the United States Code is considered as the Flag Code of the country; other countries have their own flag codes or even laws. The Flag Code provides a comprehensive regulation and restriction on the use and display of the United States flag. This is specifically laid out because the flag represents the nation. If one disrespects the flag, it is a direct assault to the nation's honor.

In the final days of David, he reminded his son, Solomon, to build the house of God as he had already prepared the materials needed. In 1 Chronicles 29:3, David talks of his love for the house of God, that his heart years for the house of God. In one of the his psalms, David announces how he enjoys going to the house of God. This passage asks us how much reverence and love do we have for the house of God. The way we love and look at the house of God is also the way we love our God. Though God dwells in our hearts, all things that are holy to God reflects the majesty of the Lord.

In these days when people have already forgotten and neglected the importance of the house of God, Christians should be reminded on how we should behave in the house of God, as Paul said. We can only show our deep love for God whom we do not see by giving love and reverence to a tangible manifestation of God.