Take Your Stand for True Worship

IMAGES AND ANCESTOR WORSHIP

Some have had images or shrines in their home for years.  Is that true of you? If so, you might feel that it is strange or wrong to pray to God without such a visible aid. You may even feel attached to some of these items.  But God is the one who says how he should be worshiped, and the Bible teaches that he does not want us to use images.  (Exodus 20:4, 5; Psalm 115:4-8; Isaiah 42:8; 1 John 5:21) So you can take a stand for true worship by destroying any items you own that are connected with false worship. By all means, come to view them as Jehovah does-as something "detestable." -Deuteronomy 27:15. 

Ancestor worship is also common in many false religions.  Before learning Bible truth, some believed that the dead are conscious  in an invisible realm and that they can help or harm the living.  Perhaps you used to go to great lengths  to appease your dead ancestors.  But as you learned in Chapter 6 of this book, the dead have no conscious existence  anywhere.  Thus attempts to communicate with them are of no use.  Any messages that seem to come from a dead loved one really originate with the demons.  Therefore, Jehovah forbade the Israelites  to try to talk with the dead or to participate  in any other  form of spiritism. -Deuteronomy 18:10-12. 

If the use of images or the practice of ancestor worship was part of your former way of worship, what can you do?  Read and ponder  over Bible passages that show you how God views these things. Pray to Jehovah daily about your desire to take a stand for true worship, and ask him to help you to think as he does. -Isaiah 55:9. 

Next time: Take Your Stand for True Worship/ CHRISTMAS-NOT CELEBRATED BY EARLY CHRISTIANS

From the book:  WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH?