Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Why is God alone among "many gods" the holy One? Why does He demand exclusive worship? Is He divinely selfish? Why not share His worship with "lesser gods"? Why is Hinduism inherently wrong? Two minutes isn't long enough for this! But look at Philippians 2:5-8 at an X-ray of agape, the character of God. There are seven steps that the Son of God (who alone can reveal the Father) took in stepping down, lower and lower:
(1) He gave up His "equality with God," (2) "emptied Himself," (3) "took upon Himself the form of a slave," (4) "was made in the likeness of [fallen] man," (5) "humbled Himself," (6) "became obedient unto death" (the only being in the wide universe of God who has ever become "obedient unto death"; no suicide is "obedient unto death," for death is Reality, and suicides flee Reality), and lastly, (7) "even the death of the cross." That's the death that involves "the curse" of God," the awful condemnation of final conscious ruin, a death infinitely worse than the physical pain involved (which itself was terrible!). See Galatians 3:13 to learn what is "the death of the cross." It was the concentrated death of humanity, for He "tasted death for every man" (Heb. 2:9), the total, final, giving of Himself, the "pouring out of His soul unto death" until there wasn't a drop left, "numbered with the transgressors, bore the sin of" everybody (Isa. 53:12).
If a picture is worth a thousand words, there we have it: this is agape, and "God is agape" (1 John 4:8). No other being in the wide universe of the heavenly or earthly cosmos has ever made such a Sacrifice! Any "other god" is therefore an anti-agape "god." That means, to worship any "lesser god" is to worship Satan himself. No, God, our heavenly Father, our Savior and Redeemer, is not divinely selfish--refusing to share His throne with "lesser gods." He knows that to worship any "other god" means death to us; and He loves us too much to allow that.
The final crisis of earth's history will be a challenge to "worship the Lamb" alone, or to worship Baal. All worship of self which is disguised as the worship of "christ" is Baal-worship. Time to think!
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 4, 1998.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
Why is God alone among "many gods" the holy One? Why does He demand exclusive worship? Is He divinely selfish? Why not share His worship with "lesser gods"? Why is Hinduism inherently wrong? Two minutes isn't long enough for this! But look at Philippians 2:5-8 at an X-ray of agape, the character of God. There are seven steps that the Son of God (who alone can reveal the Father) took in stepping down, lower and lower:
(1) He gave up His "equality with God," (2) "emptied Himself," (3) "took upon Himself the form of a slave," (4) "was made in the likeness of [fallen] man," (5) "humbled Himself," (6) "became obedient unto death" (the only being in the wide universe of God who has ever become "obedient unto death"; no suicide is "obedient unto death," for death is Reality, and suicides flee Reality), and lastly, (7) "even the death of the cross." That's the death that involves "the curse" of God," the awful condemnation of final conscious ruin, a death infinitely worse than the physical pain involved (which itself was terrible!). See Galatians 3:13 to learn what is "the death of the cross." It was the concentrated death of humanity, for He "tasted death for every man" (Heb. 2:9), the total, final, giving of Himself, the "pouring out of His soul unto death" until there wasn't a drop left, "numbered with the transgressors, bore the sin of" everybody (Isa. 53:12).
If a picture is worth a thousand words, there we have it: this is agape, and "God is agape" (1 John 4:8). No other being in the wide universe of the heavenly or earthly cosmos has ever made such a Sacrifice! Any "other god" is therefore an anti-agape "god." That means, to worship any "lesser god" is to worship Satan himself. No, God, our heavenly Father, our Savior and Redeemer, is not divinely selfish--refusing to share His throne with "lesser gods." He knows that to worship any "other god" means death to us; and He loves us too much to allow that.
The final crisis of earth's history will be a challenge to "worship the Lamb" alone, or to worship Baal. All worship of self which is disguised as the worship of "christ" is Baal-worship. Time to think!
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 4, 1998.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
