spiritual battle, Do Not Worship Anything Else (Ex.20)

The following verses talk about not having any idols, or any other gods (or anything else that would come before God) - this would include angels or demons...

(Exodus 20:3-6)  “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

From this we see:
- it can be tempting for a person to serve and worship angels and/or demons
- when someone serves angels or demons, this can be passed down to their descendants

Personal experience:  my parents adopted my youngest brother when he was two and a half years old.  His cultural background is Métis - which  is a group of people who are aboriginals with a mix of European descent.  Because the Native American cultures worship the great spirit, and various other spirits, ancestral demons followed my brother into our home.  It took us years to figure this out and how to deal with this.

Today's takeaway:  God is everywhere, but He is not IN everything.  Therefore to pray to a tree or an animal, etc., opens a person up to demonic activity.  Why would anyone want to serve something created by God, when they could serve the loving Creator, Himself?  In fact, creation gives God the glory!

God is the Creator of everything!  He is a separate Being, distinct and set apart!  A holy God who loves everyone but will only inhabit the hearts of the people who humbly approach Him to receive the free gift of salvation...

(Psalm 96:11-13)  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 Before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

(Isaiah 57:15)  For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.