True or False

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

TRUE OR FALSE

1 Kings 18:25-39

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood." 34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD-he is God! The LORD-he is God!"

NIV

We are finally at the moment of truth. Who has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mouth to speak? It is not Baal, but it is the LORD God Almighty of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who is our Lord and Savior. Baal is a worthless god devised by the mind of man. All worthless idols in this world have been invented by the mind of man and hold no power to answer any request or petition. All false gods, or idols, cannot give life as our Lord and Savior does. It is difficult to understand how so many so-called prophets worshipped a false, blind, deaf, and dumb god, especially when it was not a real living god, but only a figment of someone’s imagination. Although there are many of those same types of figments or imaginary idols in the world today. Millions of people chase after these false gods of this world with no hope of ever being seen, heard, or responded to by them. Elijah taunted those four hundred and fifty so-called prophets of Baal. Perhaps he is on a trip, deep in thought, or even sleeping, but none of that could have been true for Baal is not anyone, just imaginary. That is how so many of the idols today have become: imaginary, worthless, and useless. When Elijah asked the LORD to show Himself, to show His power to the people, God answered. He sent a fire of such immense heat that it consumed the bull, wood, stones, water, and all the mud around the altar. He is God, the one who spoke the whole universe into existence. He is the God who formed us from the ground, with his very hands, and breathed his very breath into our lungs. Although He spoke everything else into existence, even all other living creatures, He personally took a hands-on approach when He formed us into their image.  He did not speak us into a living being, but formed us with his hands. He forms us in our mother's womb, just as he formed Adam from the dust of the earth. He breathed life into us, just as He did with Adam. We are His people, and He is our God. Elijah had asked the Israelites how long they would waver between two opinions. We cannot waver between two opinions, for we do not have an opinion, for faith in the Lord God Almighty is not an opinion, but it is a way of life. God exists not because of our opinion, but if we were to have an opinion, it would be that God exists. Jesus made it clear that we cannot have two opinions or serve two masters. We do not waver; we serve the Lord God Almighty, leaving all false gods behind. Joshua said the people needed to choose whom they would serve that day, but as for him and his house, they would serve the Lord. We have chosen, made up our minds, our spirits, souls, and strength that we will serve the Lord. Baal and all the gods or idols of this world are false; God is true.