"After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained."

The Israelites had gone out to fight against the Philistines and were being defeated greatly, so they sent for the ark of the LORD to be brought in their midst that they might defeat the Philistines. This did not work, however, for the LORD was angry with Israel and their idolatry. The Philistines still beat the Israelites and even captured the ark of the LORD from them; this was to fulfill the LORD's word to Samuel (1 Sam. 3:11).

Now the ark is in the hands of the Philistines and they take their "prize" and place it in the temple of their god, Dagon. What a surprise it must of been for them when they came into the presence of their god only to find him fallen down before the ark of the LORD, not once but twice! God will not be mocked.

We have the honor of serving an awesome, yet very jealous, God. He said, "I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these." Isa. 45:5-7

Beloved, the gods of today are anything you place above the Lord. Do you have time to watch a TV sitcom, read a romance novel, or sneak a peek at a Sports Illustrated/Field & Stream magazine, but don't read your Bible or spend time in prayer? Are you consumed with meeting your fleshly desires rather than help a sister or brother, the Lord has laid on your heart? If you answer yes to any of these beloved, you are serving a foreign god and you need to remove it from your life and turn whole heartily back to the One who loves you so much that He gave His very life that you might live. The One who will never leave you nor forsake you. The One who forms light and creates darkness, who causes well-being and creates calamity. For it is the true living God who does all these and He is jealous and wants you to choose to serve Him only.

This is a daily decision we must make and we must choose to trust that He will give us the strength we need to remain faithful to Him and the calling He has placed on our lives.

Have a joyous day in our Lord!
April
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The above message is sent to you as an encouragement. Please pass this on to friends and family. To add yourself or a loved one to the mailing list reply to [email protected] Subject: "add to" (or to be removed indicate "remove")

Encouragement From The Heart Website updated March 17, 2000 (note: web address changed).
http://www.geocities.com/correiaville/encourag.html there's a new page, "The Master's Garden" stop by and check it out!

Scripture references (unless noted otherwise): The Open Bible, New American Standard
copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977
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