There is a desire in my soul
That wants to conquer Goliath
And watch him fall….
This warrior within me never sleeps
And yearns to hear the angels’ call,
A call to battle to make the devil fall.
And when Christ comes in clouds so holy
He will conquer that enemy
And we will confess His glory.
(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)
When I was
doing my degree some years ago I decided I would take some philosophy subjects.
I was so excited to study the Greek philosophers and their much-revered wisdom thinking
I would finally be wise….it was my worst subject. My professor even called me to
see if I was understanding the concept of philosophy. I passed but only just
and I never took another philosophy subject.
Having the
Gospel in my life and knowing the simplicity and truthfulness of the Plan of
Salvation, I could not for the life of me understand any of those philosophers
who were trying to explain the meaning of life. It was complex, it was
confusing and it made no sense. I was amazed how many people actually believed
these human beings who were so far removed from the truth yet so respected by
the world. I liked their random gems of wisdom but I am convinced their deeper ‘spiritual
wisdom’ came from only one place – idolatry. Their thoughts were born in time
and place when different gods were worshipped and their religious practices
were totally bereft of the truth.
One of my
most favourite parts of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles was his visit to the
prominent Greek and Roman metropolis called Ephesus, one of seven wonders of
the world. There in the Temple of Artemis pilgrims from all over the empire
came to worship a goddess called Diana. The pilgrimage to this city provided
income through visitor food, lodging, dedicatory offerings and souvenirs. Craftsmen
who made and sold images of the goddess provoked a public uprising against Paul
and his message. He was a threat to their livelihood with his preaching of a
different god.
A large
crowd gathered in the theater at Ephesus, which could hold 24,000 people, and
chanted for two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:23-34). Paul
wanted to address the crowd, but he was dissuaded by the Church and government
authorities who were concerned for his safety (vs 30-31). Can you imagine
standing in front of such a possessed crowd? I am in awe of Paul and his courage and his
conviction of the true God of heaven.
Ancient
idolatry operated under the guise of intellectual roots but its worship rites
and practices were rooted in sensual gratification. This is why ancient Israel
fell victim to its practices once they entered Canaan. Idolatry with “its
worship, appealing to every sensual passion, joined with the attractions of
wealth and fashion and luxury, was a great temptation to a simple, restrained,
agricultural people, whose worship and laws demanded the greatest purity of
heart and of life.” (Smith, Dictionary of the Bible, “idolatry” p 264).
There is a
form of ancient idolatry that has survived to this day. The most loathed and
cursed king in the history of Judah was a king called Manasseh who ascended the
throne in Jerusalem at the age of twelve and who reigned for 55 years, from 687
to 642 BCE. He introduced into the kingdom the Assyrians golden age of
astrology and divination. The astral gods of Assyria – Ishtar, Shamash and Adad
were worshipped on rooftops of the whole of Jerusalem.
Manasseh practiced
soothsaying, used enchantments, worshipped Baal and all the host of heaven,
built altars in the temple of Solomon for fertility practices and even
sacrificed his son to god Moloch…..but this is how king Manasseh exceeded the
idolatry of his predecessors – he added a third form of worship: devotion to
the heavenly bodies and the constellations. Remnants of this worship are seen
today in astrology. (see 2 Kings Chapter 21 and Notes and Commentary on this
chapter in the New Testament Student Manual)
When I
first learnt this I could see that horoscopes do not have such an innocent
origin as I supposed. I was amazed how blindly we follow things without even
knowing where their roots lie. Just about everybody in the world knows what ‘sign’
they are and they identify themselves and their nature by them. Many live by their horoscope predictions and
believe in them full-heartedly not realizing that they are being fed by the
practice of divination from voices of the world.
In the end,
everything that takes us away from God and replaces our faith in Him is
idolatry. The adversary is clever, he will do anything to dissuade us from worshipping the one true and living God. He will give us some truth to deceive us
overall but this is our advantage…..the Saviour’s love burns within us ever so
bright, we bear His holy name and serve Him through Gospel’s everlasting light……
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Behold His Glory by Danny Hahlbohm)
I
will step into deeper waters
And
abandon the ground under my feet;
I
will wade and look for You,
I
will see Your footprints
Even
in murky seas.
I
will reach and find Your hand
To
guide me where I am meant to go
I
will trust, I will surrender,
Your
purpose for me to know.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: God of Wonder by Yongsung Kim)
“Let me say
to you, that many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble,
trial and persecution that you can stand ,and plenty of opportunities to show
that you are true to God and His work. This Church has before it many close
places through which it will have to pass before the work of God is crowned with
victory.
“To meet
the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a
knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of
such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal
knowledge or witness will fall.
“If you
have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not
till you obtain it. If you do not, you will not stand. Remember these sayings,
for many of you will live to see them fulfilled.
“The time
will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each
will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how
can you stand?”
-
“Life
of Heber C. Kimball” p 446,449-50
I
would rather be a vessel in Your hand
Than
a crowned king on gilded throne;
I
would rather be a bird in flight
Without
a shelter to keep me warm;
I
would rather cross the oceans
And
go where you would want me to go
Than
sit contented never knowing
the
trail that leads me home.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: At The Helm by Danny Hahlbohm)
How can I tell you
What my mortal lips
cannot say?
How can I show you
What my mortal heart
cannot hold?
All that I feel
And all that I am
I owe to you.
I give you my all
Because a heart can give
no more.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: I Am The Way by Danny Hahlbohm)
Before
Joshua died he entered the children of Israel into a covenant to serve God who
brought them out of the ‘house of bondage’. The last chapter of the book of
Joshua records the people promising four times that they would not abandon
their God, that they would serve Him and obey His voice (Joshua 24:16,18,21,22,23).
The covenant came with three warnings as they
were about to enter the promised land of the Canaanites: 1. Beware of social
intercourse with them (Joshua 23:7; 2. Refrain from worshipping their false
gods (vv 7-11); and 3. Avoid intermarriage with hem (v 12). Yet this is exactly
what happened.
It only
took one act of disobedience to lead the
whole nation into centuries of spiritual decline, and this was it: Israel failed to drive out all the heathen
inhabitants of their promised land. Numerous unconquered cities remained
(Judges 1:27-36). The tribe of Judah blamed the Philistines which introduced
chariots of iron (Judges 1:19) but the real reason was that they had lost the
power of the Lord through their lack of faith and their disobedience.
The people
wept when an angel of the Lord came to them and confronted them about their
failure to obey. He told them the Lord will not drive these inhabitants out for them but that they shall be as ‘thorns in their sides and their
gods shall be a snare unto them’ as punishment (Judges 2:3,4; 21-23). It brings
to remembrance the Lamanites whom the Lord said to Nephi would be ‘a scourge’
to his people to ‘stir them up in remembrance of Him’ and if they will not
remember Him, they shall be the means to their destruction (2 Nephi 5:25).
When Joshua
and the leaders of Israel who served under him died, the national spirit of
Israel also died. There arose another generation after them which knew not the
Lord, nor what He had done for them (Judges 2:10,12). The covenant was soon
broken and the vicious cycle of apostasy and repentance was born. How could
Israel forget within one generation the God whom they worshipped? This is the
period of time in ancient history where the inexhaustible mercy of Jehovah
begins to show in earnest.
As the new
generation intermarried and turned to idolatry of the Canaanites, ‘the hand of
the Lord was against them for evil as He had sworn He would do’ (Judges 2:11-15;
3:6,7) but nevertheless, there was always mercy in the hope that they would
return to Him. As they fell into the hands of the oppressors, the Lord would
raise up judges to deliver them but once delivered, they would return to their
former ways and corrupted themselves even more than before (v 16-19). It makes
you want to weep…..
And this is the interesting part. They did not cry to the false gods they worshipped to deliver them but they cried to Jehovah (Judges 3:9). They knew full well who the real God was. So aggrieved was the Saviour about their backsliding and idolatry that He referred to their worship of false gods as ‘harlots with many lovers’ (Hosea 2:5; Jeremiah 3:1). This is heartbreaking as the Saviour always referred to His relationship with Israel as marriage.
He is the Bridegroom who is coming to take us as His bride in the everlasting covenant of love. May we always remember that and forsake the lovers of the world we hold onto today. We can do better than Israel of old.
As Israel, we have trodden worldly paths
That have left us battered, scarred,
And parched in search of love.
Our lovers were many but
Our hearts were empty.
At long last
We embrace the love that lasts,
We prepare for the wedding feast
And abandon our treacherous past.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Sending Forth the Bride by Danny Hahlbohm)
I CAME INTO THE WORLD:
To
give peace to the suffering
To
give hope to the down-trodden
To
strenghten the weak
To
lighten your burdens
To
lift the downtrodden
To
give sight to the blind
To
give power to the faint
To
give might to the weary
To
comfort those who mourn
To
bind up the broken-hearted
To
show mercy to the penitent
To
give you living water
To
free the captive
To
be a refuge from the storm
And
a shadow from the heat
To
give you rest from sorrow and fear
To
break the bands of bondage
To
empower the powerless
To
conquer the sting of death
To
be a light unto the world
To
establish truth
To
atone for you
To
love you
To
help you
To
save you.
I WILL RETURN:
To
conquer the enemy
To
destroy the wicked
To
govern in righteousness
To
unite the nations
To
gather my people Israel
To
establish peace
To
take away the sorrow
To
make all things known
To
flood the earth with truth
To
resurrect you
To
judge in righteousness
To
give mercy to the penitent
To
take you to the Father
To
give you eternal life
To
exalt you.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Jesus the Symbol of Hope by Ivan Guaderrama)
