As the people of Israel were being formed as a nation, God offered some of the basics of their life with Him in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  This was the first:   ⁴“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  A simple truth, but vital:  There is only one God.  The Israelites lived in a pagan world, filled with a vast array of "gods" people worshiped.  Some worshiped the sun, moon and stars.  Some worshiped nature.  Some worshiped other people.  Some worshiped.... you get the idea.  In the midst of that, God told the Israelites, I am God, and I alone!  The concept is so familiar to us we might gloss over it, but to the Israelites their belief in one, invisible, almighty God was a foundational concept, one that separated them from the other nations around them, and would shape every aspect of their lives.

Here's the question of the day, "Do you truly believe there is one God?" You say, "Chris, that's a silly question."  Is it?  Do you truly believe there is only one God--only one way to salvation, only one being in all the universe worthy of our praise and worship?  We know we're supposed to say yes to those questions, but do our lives bear out that affirmative answer?  Have we been taught by our culture that tolerance requires we allow other people to have their gods?  Do we live in such a way that everyone around us can tell that we believe there is only one God, or would they say our lives demonstrate worship of money, or position, or family or something else?

When we're reading (or writing!) a blog post, it's easy to say, "I believe in one, true and living God," but when we're actually living our lives, it isn't so easy.  The answers to all the questions in today's post seem straightforward enough, but Jesus said, "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven."  (See Matthew 7)  The proof of the pudding as they say is, after all, in the eating.  How we live, how we think, speak and act tells whether we not only say there is one God, but whether we love and serve Him and Him alone. 

Let's take some time right now to reflect on whether our lives makes the statement, "I believe in the one, true and living God."  If yes, then praise the Lord!  If no, then repentance is in order.  As we'll see tomorrow, it isn't enough to acknowledge the truth that there's only one God.  He expects more!

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank You for all You are and all You do to demonstrate that You are God and You alone!  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit today that we may glorify You today.  This we ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.