Advent Day #15- Modern Day Baals

"How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him..." 1 Kings 18:21

The story of Elijah on Mt Carmel is one of my top 5 favorite stories in the Bible.  The wicked King Ahab and his even more wicked wife Jezebel have handed Israel over to Baal worship, and Elijah is right smack in the middle of it all.  God has called Elijah to be a prophet to His people and by God's command, he confronts this religious apostasy.

He calls together the 450 prophets of Baal and informs them of his plan to show them who is really worthy of their worship!  He tells them to choose a bull and lay it on an altar but not to set it on fire (and he would do the same).  Then, he told them to call upon their god, and Elijah would call upon His God, "and the God who answers by fire, He is God." (1 Kings 18:24)

The prophets called out to their gods from morning til midday, crying aloud and even cutting themselves... "but there was no voice. No one answered: no one paid attention." (verse 29)

Then... Elijah builds an altar, and he doesn't just put wood on it, he builds a trench around it, and then covers the sacrifice and the wood and the altar with water.  Not once... not twice... but three times!  The altar was soaked and the trench was full. And then He called upon the name of the One True God...

And "the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench..." (verse 38)

and what happened when the people saw this amazing display of God's great power and provision?

"They fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God." (verse 39)

Bowing down to false idols, or making sacrifices to Baal may sound crazy to us, but how often do we set up other "gods" and idols in place of the One True God.  Can you think of any "Baals" that may be present in your life?

Anything that takes our hearts away from God, any possession or position, any person or plan can take the place of God if we are not careful. We can find ourselves worshipping money, power, and fame, or even things like family, comfort and safety... and while the latter things may not seem so bad, we are called to love God with ALL that we are and ALL that we have.  And we are told that NOTHING should be more important in our lives than Him.

Today, as we think about what it means to truly worship Jesus with all that we have and all that we are... is there anything keeping you from worshipping Him alone?  What "modern day Baals" might you need to get rid of, stop trusting in, run away from, that are hindering you from truly embracing Christ this Christmas?

God desires nothing more than to be YOUR God!

10 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!