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Gleanings From The Word

Category: orthodoxy

  • Patron Saints, Luck, and Guardian Angels

    Patron Saints, Luck, and Guardian Angels: What Are You Worshiping?

    A lottery ticket in a hand with patron saint medallion and "lucky" angel"

    Without ever knowing it, she managed to push several of my hot buttons at once. I stood behind her at the convenience store checkout. As her purchases were being rung in, she kissed her patron saint medal and rubbed her guardian angel pin. She said to the cashier, “For luck!” Then she ordered her lottery ticket.

    I’m not a fan of lotteries and regard them as a tax on the greedy and poor. I’ve seen many families and lives ruined by gambling, including by “harmless” lottery playing. However, there is no biblical prohibition on gambling, so I recognize that as being my issue.

    I don’t believe in “luck”. I believe in a sovereign God who is ultimately in control of all things. There is such a thing as divine providence and blessing, but not luck. Again, my issue.

    Patron Saints! Now that’s a problem. It’s a man-made system of idolatry. The saints are all who believe in Jesus Christ, not a select class voted on by denominational elite. Every reference in the Bible to saints (68 of them) refers to the body of believers.  In every instance but one, the word is plural, not singular, referring to more than one person. Praying to patron saints is a direct affront to God.

     “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
    Exodus 20:3-6 ESV

    Guardian angels? The jury is still out on the whole concept of guardian angels. You can’t prove or disprove their existence from Scripture. In any event, God is sovereign over everything, so he doesn’t need an angel to intercede for us. If they exist, their role isn’t to be worshipped or to tend to our whims. Angels are under the sovereign command of God. Certainly, their role isn’t to make us “lucky”.

    Over the past number of years, the public at large has developed a huge and unhealthy fascination with angels. There are people who track “angel sightings”. You can buy prosperity angels, good luck angels, fertility angels and more. You can go to see New Age practitioners who will give you angel readings and special messages for you from your personal angel.

    Most of it is promoted by people just out to make a buck and the odd fraud artist. I don’t doubt that some of those things are from angels. Fallen angels. Evil spirits and demons.

    The fascination with angels has become a form of worship. 

    For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:21-25 ESV

    What are you worshipping? God alone is worthy of our worship.

    Until next time, praise God for His love and His patience with us.

    May God pour out His abundant blessings on you,

    Kevin

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    SUMMARY

    A woman ahead of me at checkout kissed her patron saint medal, rubbed her guardian angel pin, and bought a lottery ticket “for luck.” It sent me back to Scripture on luck, patron saints, and guardian angels, and to the real question underneath it all: what are we worshiping?

    TAKEAWAY

    Luck and gambling aren’t biblically prohibited, but Scripture points to a sovereign God who governs through providence, not chance

    “Saints” appears 68 times in Scripture, almost always plural, always describing the whole body of believers, never a select class chosen by denominational vote — making patron saint devotion a man-made system

    Guardian angels can’t be confirmed or denied from Scripture, but if they exist, they serve under God’s command, not ours; today’s cultural fascination with angels has drifted into a form of idolatry

    YOU MIGHT CHECK THESE OUT

    Bible Gateway – a free online bible, easily searchable in many translations

    Got Questions – a great source for quick answers on a wide range of Christian/Bible questions

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    How do you know what the Bible says? You read the Word

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  • Those Darn Rats

    Those Darn Rats

    a rat eating seed

    Our neighborhood is located directly below a large hill that has several acres of brush and grasslands; immediately beyond the hill used to be a farm. For many decades, it was a prime habitat for rabbits, deer, raccoons, birds, and, of course, rats and mice.

    When clearing started on the farm, we saw less wildlife; that’s to be expected. Now they are cleaning up the hillside for a future park, and the rodents have no place left to live. Our neighborhood is having a minor rat epidemic, and people are doing their bit to eliminate the problem.

    Now, I don’t have a fundamental issue with rats. They’re kind of cute, inquisitive, and smart. They can even be friendly to a degree, and I’m told they make great pets. I do, however, understand that they can cause a lot of damage and can often cause health issues, so it’s undesirable to have lots of them around. That means they must go. I found myself wishing for a mythical pied piper to lead them away (without taking the children later).  We’ll get them in time.

    The rats sneaking in remind me of the way false prophets can creep into a church. They typically come in innocuously enough, but soon the poison can spread through the entire congregation, causing incredible damage.

    It isn’t a new problem

    But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3

    Now, not everyone who comes into the church who has wrong thinking is a false prophet with a dangerous agenda. Many can be corrected with sound teaching and/or church discipline.  True false prophets need to be found out and removed from fellowship.

    The pastor, the under shepherd of God, acts as a sheepdog to help keep the bad ones at bay. 

    He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus 1:9

    The pastor can’t be everywhere at once or hear every conversation, so the sheep must also learn to be vigilant.

    How do we know who a false prophet is? By knowing the truth ourselves. That comes through regular bible reading and study, listening to grounded preaching, and learning good theology ourselves.

    We must do our bit to be aware and discerning. Let us be diligent to ensure we know the truth.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Some other choices

    Read the Word – choose truth over error