Choose To Worship God

THROUGH your study of the Bible, you have learned that many people who claim to worship God actually  teach or practice things that God hates.   (2 Corinthians 6:17)   That is why Jehovah command us to get out of false religion,  "Babylon the Great."  (Revelation 18:2, 4)  What will you do?  Each of us has a choice to make, and we must ask ourselves, 'Do I want to worship God in the way that he wants me to, or do I want to worship the way I always have?'

If you have already left or resigned from a false religion, that is good.  But  deep inside there may be some practices and customs  of false religion that you still enjoy.  Let us discuss some of those practices and customs and see why  it is so important that we view them the way Jehovah views them.

IMAGES AND ANCESTOR WORSHIP

Some people have used images or shrines in their home to worship God for many years.  If that is true of you, it may feel strange or even wrong to worship God without them. But remember, Jehovah teaches us how to worship him.  And the Bible clearly tells us that Jehovah does not want us to use images in our worship. - Read EXODUS 20:4, 5; PSALM 115:4-8; ISAIAH 42:8; 1 JOHN 5:21. 

Some people may spend a lot of time and energy trying to please their dead ancestors.  They may even  worship them.  But we have learned that those who have died cannot help us or hurt us.  The are not living somewhere else.  Actually, it is dangerous to try to communicate with them because any message that appears to come from a dead relative would in fact be from demons.  That is why Jehovah commanded the Israelites  not to try to talk to the dead or get involved in any other sort of demonism. - DEUTERONOMY 18:10-12; 

What can help you to stop using images to worship God or to stop worshipping your ancestors?  You need to read the Bible and think carefully about how Jehovah views those things. He views them as "detestable," or disgusting.  (Deuteronomy  27:15)  Pray to Jehovah every day for help to view things as he does and for help to worship him in that way that he wants.  (Isaiah 55:9) You can be sure that Jehovah will give you the strength you need to remove from your life anything related to false worship.

Chose to Worship God - SHOULD WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?

From the jw.org publications