Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 19:26-27, 34

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 19:26-27, 34

"Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

Paul's conversion of the Ephesus affected the livelihoods of those that made idols and profited from those that worshiped Diana. Paul wanted to go into the theater at Ephesus and speak to them but was persuaded not to. For two hours the people cried "Great is Diana of the Ephesians". This made me ponder on where is that theater and those that worshiped Diana today? They are all gone. Yet, the name of Jesus Christ lives on, and people still worship Him.

Day 3196

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 23:35

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 23:35

"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms."

bear thou also = bear the consequences of

When we turn from God, and this case cast him behind our backs, we must bear the consequences of these actions. This chapter is the allegory of the two sisters. Jehovah is the husband and Israel is the wife. It relates to marriage (adultery) and worship (idolatry). There is so much here against being unfaithful, and turning to idols, and allowing our children to be devoured. It is a warning to us. Whatever in our lives takes us away from God, where we turn our backs on Him, is our idol. That time away, being unfaithful requires a price. There are consequences of our actions, with ripple effects felt for generations.

Day 2984

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 6:3-4

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 6:3-4

"And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols."

What was happening that was so grievous to bring destruction on mountain, hills, rivers and valleys? It was the wickedness performed on top of them. It was their places of idol worship. When you think of the children of Israel, you don't think of idol worshippers. Yet, this is where their apostasy had lead them. They embraced the pagan gods and practices around them.

All these places needed to be torn down and destroyed and the idol worshippers removed from among them. It made me think of wolves among the sheep. People that call themselves saints or christians, yet are unaware of the occult practices they have embraced and heaven forbid teach to others.

The greatest protection a person has against embracing false doctrine is to know the doctrine, to read and ponder the scriptures. I am forever grateful that as I committed to read my scriptures daily that the spirit told me to just read the scriptures, and not books about the scriptures.

"And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments."

(Mosiah 23:14)

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

(Matthew 22:29)

"And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them."

(Doctrines and Covenants 10:63)

Day 2967

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 16:10-12

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 16:10-12

"And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?

Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:"

This made me think of what Jesus said to the Pharisees.

"Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;"

(Luke 11:47-50)

I believe the second Article of Faith.

"We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression."

So why where the people of Jeremiah's time and during the Savior's earthly ministry punished for their father's sins? It's because they embrace the false teaching of their fathers. They became even more corrupt. Not only where the Pharisees false priests in their day. They were worst than the priest of Baal and idol worshippers that sacrificed prophets and innocent children. These were people in Jesus' time that would crucify the very Son of God.

Day 2920

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 11:12

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 11:12

"Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble."

This made me think of our favorite sins, and how hard they are to give up. That idols and false gods would be the same way. I thought of different things that people worship, that take them away from God. It doesn't have to be false religions it can be so many material things. Things that fill us with pride, and give us a sense of superiority over others. Things of man that we put our trust into, and feel will save us. I pondered on how Satan has his hands is so many facets of life. He is spread throughout social, educational, political and philosophical doctrines which run counter to the gospel. The key is to not be deceived. Come unto Christ, is our only hope.

Day 2915

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 2:27-28

Today's Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 2:27-28

"Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah."

I was thinking about having faith today, and how there is great peace of mind in the midst of what seems like dark days ahead. There is no fear when you trust the Lord. Money, politics, and material things cannot bring peace of mind or comfort in sorrow. If those are your gods then in hard times will they save you?

Day 2906

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 2:8, 20

Today's Favorite Verse: Isaiah 2:8, 20

"Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;"

I'm sitting here with my head bowed, reading my scriptures on my smart phone. I love using the Gospel Library app while reading my scriptures. I can add impressions received as notes and create links between other scriptures and articles while studying. But, in appearance I don't look any different than any one else looking at a smart phone. Isaiah could describe us as appearing to worship the works of our own hands.

If my phone was dead I could see throwing it to the moles and bats, because it's useless if it has no power. I don't think the Lord wants me to stop reading my scriptures on my smart phone. The purpose it is used for and the content it contains is good. The scriptures are also not the work of man's hand but the word of God received by revelation to man. It's not the device that is the issue. Neither is creating something out of gold or silver. A temple is very much the works of our own hand dedicate to God, and we worship in it.

I think the issue with the works of man's hand is content and what we are doing with it. If I was hold up in the cavity of a rock for fear of the Lord, I could see throwing something like a smart phone to the moles and bats, if I didn't want the content discovered. No different than a criminal getting rid of the tools of his trade thinking he won't get caught if its not on them. Just like discarded tools can have your finger prints all over it, those that worship something other than God have it imprinted all over their hearts. That is why the idols were made each one for himself to worship. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:21)

Day 2840

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 135:15-17

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 135:15-17

"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths."

This made me think of how we are told to #HearHim. This is why this scripture about dumb idols that can neither see, hear or speak is so important. For it is only the Lord that can see, hear or through the spirit speak to us. When we are turned to the Lord we will have eyes that see, ears that hear and we will know and understand the will of the Lord.

Day 2772

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 18:3-4, 6

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Kings 18:3-4, 6

"And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses."

I was just so happy to read about Hezekiah reign as king of Judah. It seems like such a long dry spell of having a righteous king. Over two hundred years this has been a continual issue. I did wonder why it included breaking the brasen serpent that Moses made. This article shed even great light on the subject.

"Israelites often murmured against God and His prophet, Moses. The Lord sent among the people “fiery serpents” that threatened great destruction as a punishment. As a means of physical salvation and as a type of the spiritual salvation to be wrought by Jesus Christ, Moses made a serpent of brass, placed it on a pole, and taught his people that if they would gaze upon the serpent when they were bitten, physical healing would follow. The brass serpent was preserved in Israel and, in time, became an object of adoration and was worshiped by the Israelites much as they worshiped idols. In his zeal to eradicate all forms of idolatry in Judah, King Hezekiah had the brazen serpent destroyed along with the idols.The word nehushtan comes from the Hebrew and means an object made of brass. The implication may be that Hezekiah was speaking contemptuously of the object being worshiped, saying it was merely a “thing of brass” and nothing more."

(Old Testament Student Manual Kings-Malachi, The Fall of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 14-20), (12-20)

It made me ponder on the importance of not worshipping craftmanship and history over the ordinances in the house of the Lord. If the brass serpent had long turned from being a symbol of looking to the Lord and living, to only an idol to worship, then yes it truly did need to be removed. It wasn't what Moses had fashioned for a particular need and time, it was the words that Moses taught of the Lord that needed to be honored and obeyed.

Day 2490

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Samuel 5:2-3, 6

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Samuel 5:2-3, 6

"When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof."

The Philistines place the ark of the covenant in the house of Dagon whom they worshipped. First the idol Dagon is knocked over, next the head and arms are cut off. Then they are affected with tumors and boils. So then they decide to move the ark to Gath and destruction follows to that city and they are stricken with tumors and boils. Next they send the ark to Ekron and the people there are afraid it will slay them. Now they want to send the ark back to its own place for there is deadly destruction and the men that remain alive are afflicted with tumor and boils..

As I'm reading this I think of how God is able to do his own work.

"Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.

Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work."

(2 Nephi 27:20-21)

Day 2400

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 32:1

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 32:1

"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."

Because the children of Israel felt Moses delayed in coming down from the mount, they gave up and wanted Aaron to make them gods to worship. It made me think of patience and how it is a divine attribute. How the lack of patience shows we are going on a time table of our own making, and not according to God's will. I thought about this one person I know that left the church. Why? Because they prayed to have their calling and election made sure, and nothing happened. To them it meant the church was not true. The logic blows my mind in how flawed it is, and how unprepared they were for such a thing. But to begin to explain it to them is like talking to the wind. Sometimes people smash their own tablets before God gets to reveal greater truths to them. What could the children of Israel have received from the Lord if they were only patient about waiting upon Him.

Day 2241

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 25:2-3

Today's Favorite Verse: Exodus 25:2-3

"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass."

Where did the children of Israel get gold, silver and brass after all these years of being slaves to the Egyptians? It was from when the Lord commanded the children of Israel to ask or demand a recompense for their past services from them. This is where they received jewels of silver and gold and other precious things. It was in direct prophesy of Abraham, that his seed which were strangers in the land for four hundred years, would come out with great substance.

I thought about two things with these riches. First, it's interesting how Satan tried to deceive them into idol worship of a golden calf. They would have used the gold meant for the tabernacle the Lord would prepare for them. What blessings they would have lost. The second was the offering had to be made willingly. This made me think of paying tithes and offerings. How this is all done willingly. Yet, there are some apostates that find fault and think this shouldn't be asked of us. The point is it's all willing, and no one has to do it. It is the Lord that requires of it of all his saints, through all generations. We can either make offerings of what the Lord asks, or withhold them and use them for our own idols that bring nothing.

Day 2234