“So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?
    Can you picture me without reducing me?
People with a lot of money
    hire craftsmen to make them gods.
The artisan delivers the god,
    and they kneel and worship it!
They carry it around in holy parades,
    then take it home and put it on a shelf.
And there it sits, day in and day out,
    a dependable god, always right where you put it.
Say anything you want to it, it never talks back.
    Of course, it never does anything either! (The Message).

I heard about a Keswick Bible teacher who, one year, kept saying to the gathered crowd, ‘You know this, but I’m reminding you of it anyway! I believe he was speaking on 2 Peter (see, e.g. 1:12-15/3:1).

Much of pastoral ministry involves the tireless repetition of certain basic truths. In our fallenness and frailty we quickly and easily forget, or turn away from what we know, and we are in need of constant reminders. Hopefully we may be able to find fresh and creative ways to carry out this aspect of ministry, but it has to be done!

You may have noticed that there’s quite a lot of repetition in Isaiah. Today, we are back with one of his big themes: the absurdity of idolatry. It should be patently obvious that a man-made god, sitting on a shelf, isn’t likely to do anything – other than collect dust!!

 …Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles. (1 John 5:21: The Message).

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21 NIV).

PRAYER: Lord, I recognise the truth that the human heart is an ‘idol-making factory.’ Help me to have no other gods before you.