Psalm 97:7: “Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, / Who boast of idols. / Worship Him, all you gods.”

April 12th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

It is common in this 21st century to depict the religious beliefs of indigenous people, from almost every region in the world, as being gentle and enlightened. It often comes as a shock to many when they discover that the practices of these idol-worshiping natives were, and are, everything but enlightened.

The popular Disney film, Pocahontas, about that famous Native-American maid, depicts Pocahantas’ native religion as a nature-loving worship of peaceful and wise earth spirits, but the reality was much different. The religion of her people was filled with bloody, sacrifice-demanding rituals. According to Captain John Smith’s diary, the Native Americans around the early settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, worshiped a god called Oke. They believed this “god” required a yearly sacrifice of fifteen boys, between the ages of 10 and 15, for the tribe to be blessed with food and offspring. That these facts are kept hidden shouldn’t surprise us since 3000 years ago God’s Word warned of the shame connected to idol worship.

Down through history, false religions have been painted in a beautiful and deceptive light, but they are nothing more than false fronts for the deception of hell. The end result of pursuing any false idol is separation from the only God who is God. We today must carefully guard ourselves from letting idols creep into our hearts, the area that God refuses to share with any other god.

“LORD, we pursue You, the only God, to work in and through us this day.”