The God that answers by fire

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. We thank God because we serve a living God, a God who speaks, ears, sees, understands, feels, loves, gets upset, carries out vengeance, forgives, prays, comforts, fights, doesn’t sleep, has never lost a battle, and can never fail.

Primary Text

“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” 1 Corinthians 8v4 (KJV).

In my mother tongue, there is a song which says the God who we do not see but we see the works of His hands. Indeed, there is no other God but one, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, the I AM that I AM, the Unchanging Changer, the Most High God, Jehovah is His name. Isaiah 46v5-8 (NLT) says ““To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal? Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.” But you know the God you serve. He is like none other. He hears prayers, He rescues, He cannot be contained in a box, He was not made with the hands of man, and He existed before we did and will continue to exist long after we go (unless Jesus has come back). He is the Alpha and the Omega. So Paul here is saying in essence, there is one God, and idols in themselves are nothing. At a point the children of Israel were serving a god called Baal. Elijah, a prophet of God, asked the people “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18v21). And then he put forward a test saying that a sacrifice with cut up bulls be put on wood but no fire. Then he told the prophets of Baal that “… you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire – he is God.” (1 Kings 18v24). The Lord God Almighty, answered by fire. Hallelujah!!! (1 Kings 18v30-38)

Supplementary Text

“So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.” 1 Kings 18v26-29 (NIV).

Prayer

King of Glory, the Lord of hosts, Abba Father, we thank You, we honor You and we extol You, for You alone are God in Jesus name, amen.