There is only one God

"Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22 BSB

With the race I was volunteering at Saturday having four separate start times for the four different distances it offered, I was preparing to say the fourth prayer of the morning when my friend who was acting as the announcer said “ Hey Melissa, would you consider including everyone in your next prayer?" "What do you mean?" I asked, confused by the question. "You know, including some other gods that people might believe in?" he explained. Without having to think about that for even one second I politely declined and said, "No. There is only one God.” He later told me that my response was exactly what he had expected but asked anyway because a person in the crowd who had gathered at the start line of this final set of runners said my prayers weren't inclusive enough--something I'm hearing more and more often as our nation and our world continue to spiral into immorality and continually deny the absolute truths laid out in the Bible. 

And you know, the absolute and undeniable truth is this... there is only one God. And while the world might worship any number of gods (notice the lowercase g?) like money, fame, political parties, belief systems, popular narratives, or celebrities and might even pray to idols made of wood or gods who have no power to save, it cannot change the truth. And the truth is this... salvation is "found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." To compromise on that stance to pacify another person's beliefs (that simply aren't true) is not only denying that Jesus Christ really is the only way to heaven and the one true God but causes us to miss the opportunity to present the facts that could very well lead to a person's conversion... or at the very least cause them to question whether it could be true. 

So in a world that's growing increasingly hostile to the Truth and all those who profess it, stand your ground my friend no matter the consequences. Cling to the Rock and Redeemer and profess boldly, "There is only one God who has the power to save and his name is Jesus Christ." 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us just how important it is to have a firm foundation that is based on the knowledge that You are the one true God. Lord, cause us to determine within ourselves today that we will never compromise on this Truth so that when we are faced with situations that might cause us to shrink back, we will stand our ground and boldly proclaim that apart from You, "there is no other." It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!