American Idol? or Aliens examine our passions!

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6 NASB)

On board Starship Kollobbtsktsk:

Brig. General Yunge: “Status First Lieutenant Will-E”

Lieutenant Will-E: “We will arrive at the third planet from the sun in about 3 Kollobonian minutintsk. It is fortunate that the only beings on this planet who know of us are widely held as what they refer to as “whack-jobs and loons.”

Brig. General Yunge: “Precisely... Chief Religion Officer Joewerkinferit...what’s the status on the understanding of God on this planet?”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “We have discovered a copy of their primary Moral Law. It is called by modern theologians The Ten Commandments.”

Brig. General Yunge: “Summarize in layman’s terms.”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “It seems that the first four Commandments relate in general to the people’s relationship with God. The rest seem to deal more with their relationship with each other.”

Brig. General Yunge: “How are they doing following these Commandments?”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “They seem to break them all. Take the 2nd one for instance. It says not to create an idol for themselves. It says God is a jealous God and extends His punishment to those who do this for generations. Even with this very specific instruction, idols are everywhere. This is especially so in America, that powerful nation that houses Mark Applegate, the most brilliant, attractive and modest writer on the planet.”

Brig. General Yunge: “The houses have little shrines?”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “Not really shrines. It’s something much more sinister yet subtle. In fact, they often don’t realize they have them. Take Sunday, the day they worship God. Instead of being in their house of worship, many of them do peculiar things. Some walk around a neatly groomed field and whack a ball with a metal rod until it lands in one of 18 mini-shrines. Others offer sacrifices by casting them into a lake or river on the end of a string. Still others watch their metallic house shrine as it entertains them with sport. They have a place to worship God, yet they follow idols. Worst of all, I don’t think God likes it at all. In their sacred text it says in Revelation 21:8 ‘But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ Idolaters aren’t just those who worship other recognized deities...they are those who make one up for themselves! It can be as subtle as saying about God “My god would never send someone to Hell...or...My god takes into account the good I have done with the bad, puts it on a scale and if I do more good than bad I go to heaven...or...My god adds new stuff to the Bible all the time as dictated by our current religious leaders.” These people might as well rename their god Yoda!

Brig. General Yunge: “Why doesn’t God come to Earth and show Himself as He is?”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “That’s just it...He did!”

Brig. General Yunge: “What did the people do when their Creator came?”

Officer Joewerkinferit “They killed Him!”

Brig. General Yunge: “Interesting! No wonder they have little shrines everywhere. They don’t fear their God.”

Officer Joewerkinferit: “I have read their book. They will fear Him later...when He comes back.”

Meanwhile...on Earth... writing genius Mark Applegate offers this commentary:

Ok...there is no such thing as aliens. I know... most of us have seen the poll that says more modern college students believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life than believe they will get Social Security benefits when they turn 65. Bad news...neither is true! Either way, it is a sobering reality to know that God is mad about the fact that we are idolaters. I have often failed on this one as well. I don’t have a Buddha on my mantle or a sacred cow on my fridge. I do, however, justify my personal sin by rationalizing it in my mind, making the God of my mind different than the one in the Bible. When we do that, we might as well be worshipping some dude name Frank. Don’t write this Commandment off as one that heathens do in other countries. Instead add it to the list of Commandments that both of us break. Look at the Commandments, and think of how frequently we break them. Then think of God coming to the Earth as a perfect, sinless man, dying on the cross as a substitute punishment-taker for the many sins (including this one) we have committed against Him, and rising again to defeat death. We should remind ourselves that He did this knowing what kind of folks we really are. What a great and merciful God we serve!
By the way...If you don’t know this God about which I speak, in a personal way, or if you have made for yourself one that is comfortable to you instead of one strictly expressed in the Bible, humbly call out to Him. Say to Him something like “God, I know I have blown it. I have broken every Commandment in the Book. You should throw me in Hell, and be perfectly justified in doing so. I ask you, instead, to forgive my sins. I know Jesus died as a substitute for the punishment my sins have deserved. I want to turn from my old life with me in charge and let you be my boss in every way. While I can never earn your forgiveness, I want to live for you forever. Amen.” There is no magic prayer or posture necessary, just a humble heart who wants to know God. Email me any time if you have questions. God Bless!

Weight updates: 214.8 down 2 lbs from last week. Total lost: 121. Goal: 24.8 lbs away. Ancient Chinese Secret to huge weight loss...The man who lose lot of weight must first be of really fat! No charge for the advice!

Bible verse: Colossians 1:21-2