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 I don't know if you have paid attention to all of Jesus' demon encounters, but they are pretty revealing. For example, in Mark's gospel, only one human acknowledged that Jesus was the son of God and that man was a Roman centurion at the foot of the cross. The other times that we hear this remarkable statement come from demon-possessed lips.  Even more interesting is Jesus' reaction to the surreal declaration. He always tells them to hush up. This makes sense because demons saying anything, whether good or bad, is not a good thing. Look at this passage in Mark 1:23-27 Mark 1:23 Just then, a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" 25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amaze...

God was emphatic about this point. It is one of the Ten Commandments and is repeated near the end of the chapter in verse 23. God is jealous in a justified way. His perfection demands complete worship, and there can be no substitutes. No imitations. For God to require anything is for him to demonstrate his grace and mercy. Knowing anything about God means that he has communicated to us. This act allows us to realize that he is awesome and wonderful. He is perfect.  When we allow something to encroach on his glory, we are diverting our attention from his glory. We are, in essence, saying that God is not enough. He is not sufficient to meet our most profound need to worship.  Americans see ridiculous people who worship stones or statues and shake our heads. It makes no sense to bow to a rock. And yet we Idolize other things. Just drop your cell phone in the toilet and see if you don't stick your hand immediately into the residue to pluck it out.  That panicked action shows ...

The end of the year usually brings mixed emotions. We look back to see what we may have done right and wrong and look forward to ways to improve in the future. This time of the year is an excellent opportunity for reflection and planning. Or so we think.  Often, we make resolutions that we don't intend to keep. Diet, more exercise, a better savings plan, or learning a new language are the attainable goals. Bible reading and prayer apps are often hot items. We will be better next year!  Why don't these plans work? I believe that they are good ideas and that we should be trying to be better each year. We'd be better served if we decided to have New Year's resolutions every month.  With me, I look at the New Year as a time to improve. However, I often bite off more than I can chew by planning to make a drastic, though honorable, year-long change. I understand the goal and the need for improvement, but, I too, remember a few years ago what a friend told me. We were in Septe...