This question is answered by the words, thoughts and deeds of each and every person who claims to be a child of God. Each believer should ask him/herself that question periodically, then answer it truthfully. In order to form a true mental picture of our spiritual life we must understand that EACH PERSON ABOVE THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY IS A SLAVE TO EITHER THE GOD OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OR THE GOD OF THIS WORLD. Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language defines a “slave” as one who is “owned and controlled by another.” The owner of the slave is the slave’s LORD. The apostle Paul, who received His Gospel Truth (Jn. 17:17) directly from Jesus Christ through revelation (Gal. 1:6), wrote in Romans 6:6 that once we have been justified (had all past sins forgiven) and have become a new (righteous) creation, that we can no longer be SLAVES OF SIN like we were prior to justification, at which time we received the Holy Spirit with which to resist Satan’s temptations to sin. From that time on we must be slaves of righteousness (vs. 18). In verse 16 he tells us that THE ONE WHOM WE OBEY (WHO IS OUR LORD) IS THE ONE WHOSE SLAVE WE ARE. THAT ONE IS OUR LORD WHOM WE MUST OBEY. OTHERWISE, HE IS NOT OUR LORD. IF HE IS NOT OUR LORD IN THIS LIFE HE WILL NOT BE OUR SAVIOR IN THE NEXT LIFE.

In Romans 1:21-32 we find Paul describing the ancient Israelites who had known the God who had saved them from Egyptian slavery (Who had been their “Savior”), but had soon afterward rejected Him as their LORD. Paul notes that they refused to glorify Him as God, and thereby, “… became futile in their THOUGHTS, causing their HEARTS (MINDS) to become darkened.” God allowed them to follow their HEARTS/MINDS, to engage in all kinds of sins and to worship and to serve false gods such as men, animals, birds, fish and creeping things. Ezekiel chapter 8 tells us about the Jews of Jerusalem doing exactly that. Their ultimate slap in God’s face was their worship of the sun (vs 16). Nothing has changed. Sun worship is unwittingly being carried on today in the world’s churches every sun god day–SUNDAY–the day “the church” pays homage to their god–the sun. This is how God views the church and its religious activities.

As the scriptures tell us, everything we think, say and do begins in our minds. The Scriptures also tell us that the eyes are the windows of the soul. What we receive mentally enters our minds/hearts through our eyes and ears, mostly through our eyes. Therefore, it is important that we take care as to what we deliberately observe and hear. So important is this Truth that the Lord included it in the Ten Commandment Law (Commandment #2) which we must obey in order to be saved upon His return.

The Lord (the Word Who became Jesus of Nazareth) told the recently freed Israelites and the rest of the world as long as this world exists: “You shall have no other gods BEFORE ME.” We are not to create anything that can be used in our worship of and service to Him. This includes crosses, fish symbols, pictures, statues, carvings of wood, clay, stone, etc. The word “BEFORE” is significant in that it also means “beside or along with” when used in the spiritual context.

WE MUST ALWAYS VIEW EVERTYING WE DO, SAY AND THINK FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, FOR THAT IS THE PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH HE WILL JUDGE EVERY HUMAN BEING WHO HAS EVER LIVED. From God’s point of view, anything we use relative to our relationship with Him is a RIVAL GOD AND THEREFORE HIS ENEMY. He is a jealous God (Nahum 1:2) Who commands total allegiance and total obedience. There can be nothing in our lives that can, to any degree, deflect our worship and adoration of Him. God views as another god anything that takes our minds off of Him personally in a spiritual sense, or is used to represent Him in any way. He does not need a stand-in, and this includes the pope and the church.

God views as a competitor for our attention and devotion anything that is not Him. Today there are billions of such gods in the world which have screens and speakers designed to gain and maintain our attention. Our attention must be directed toward the Lord. Those man-made gods will not save our souls. As I have written before, the Lord told me decades ago to stop watching entertainment television because it filled my mind with the things of the world. If you think those plastic gods people cannot leave home without are harmless social devices, listen to this. I recently read about a school system that no longer allows students to have cell phones on their person during school hours. Therefore, they take their phones from the students when they arrive and return them at the end of the day. Makes sense, right? But think about this. These children CANNOT TRAVEL FROM HOME TO SCHOOL, OR FROM SCHOOL TO HOME WITHOUT STARING INTO THEIR PORTABLE BRAINS IN ORDER TO GET THEIR MENTAL “FIX.” Adults are no different. I have a friend whose grandson has been fired from three jobs for feeding his addiction on company time. He could not do without his fix until lunch time. He is not alone by any means.

Addictions are mostly mental in nature. Though they often become physical, they begin in the mind. I know people who cannot sit down for more than a few seconds without pulling out their cell phones. I have been in rooms with a half-dozen or more people and would be the only one not staring into a hand-held screen. In times past, man’s replacement gods came with much larger, stationary screens. But we are much more mobile today. Satan had to come up with a portable god with which to gain and maintain man’s attention. He has been very successful.

Again, WE MUST VIEW EVERYTHING IN THIS LIFE FROM GOD’S POINT OF VIEW–THE ONLY VIEW THAT COUNTS. While thinking about this teaching, the Lord revealed to me that He views all religious symbols (gods) as He vi4ewed the curtain that separated the outer (first) room of the Temple from the Holy of Holies where He abode. The curtain prevented sinful man from entering His presence. Only the high priest could enter, once each year, with blood for the sins of the people as well as for himself. The people had no direct contact with their Creator.

With the death of Jesus, that vail was ripped apart, allowing His true saints full access to Him. Now, as priests, we can go directly to Him–the permanent and perfect High Priest–wherever He is. He is open for business at any time and in any place, IF AND ONLY IF WE OBEY HIM. This is what Jesus told the woman at the well (Jn. 4:21-24) who had said to Him that the Jews had to go to the Temple in Jerusalem in order to worship God. He told her that, in the near future, the barrier would be removed from between true saints and Himself so that they could commune with Him spiritually from anywhere at any time. This is possible BECAUSE HIS RIGHTEOUS SAINTS ARE NOW HIS TEMPEL (1 COR. 3:16). GOD VIEWS MAN-MADE SYMBOLS AS VAILS THAT STAND BETWEEN MAN AND HIMSELF. FOR HIS TRUE SAINTS, THERE IS NO SEPARATION. ISAIAH 59:2 warns us that SIN SEPARATES US FROM OUR GOD. The Apostle John tells us that true saints do not sin (1 Jn. 2:3-5; 3:1-10). I suggest that you study those passages periodically. I do. In fact, if I could have only two passages of Scripture, they would be those passages.

Those in the Institutional Church have a permanent, impassable veil that stands between themselves and the Lord. That veil is called “THE CHURCH.” The Institutional Church is salvation seekers’ golden calf which has taken them back to spiritual Egypt, back to slavery to Satan and back to being separated from their Creator. Want proof? Ask any church goer to prove that he/she is a Christian. More often than not they will tell you WHICH CHURCH THEY “BELONG TO,” MEANING WHICH LORD THEY OBEY AND WORSHIP. The Institutional Church stands between God and salvation seekers. In the eyes of the Lord, the same is true concerning their crosses, pictures, statues, cell phones, televisions, movies, books, magazines, etc. L.J.

God views man’s mental addictions