My wife Marjorie recently showed me an article that she had read. It talked on similar lines. She had also read a similar article on Facebook from another pastor that also talked on these matters.These two items spoke volumes to her, answering certain questions on a matter of concern to her, bringing a form of release in that area.When I read the article, it leaped out of the page at me and I remembered that earlier conversation in which the Lord had asked me the above question.This presentation is part of the outcome.

Before we continue, let me define what is meant by a foreign god. Webster’s dictionary defines the word foreign as-

Situated outside a place or country especially situated outside one’s own countryBorn in, belonging to, or characteristic of some place or country other than the one under considerationOf, relating to, or proceeding from some other person or material thing than the one under considerationAlien in character: not connected or pertinentRelated to or dealing with other nationsOccurring in an abnormal situation in the living body and often introduced from outside {a foreign body lodged in the esophagus}Not recognized by the immune system as part of the self {foreign proteins}not being within the jurisdiction of a political unit (as a state)

Bring this into line with Kingdom living. There is no poverty in Heaven, therefore poverty is foreign to God.

There is no sickness, pain or suffering in Heaven therefore sickness, pain and suffering is foreign to God.Such things as oppression, depression, bad relationships, disappointment, fear and torment are similarly foreign to God.

If Jesus delivered us from all such things, then they aught to fit Webster’s definitions of foreign. They belong elsewhere.They are not characteristic of living in the Kingdom, they relate to or emanate from some other place or person and they occur in an abnormal situation in a believer’s life.

The obvious areas of concern thus immediately come to mind, yet many professing believers embrace poverty or accept sickness. The belief is that God sends sickness to teach us lessons and that is contrary to the teachings of the bible.

Jesus was scourged to emancipate us from the curse, one of the results being sickness. Isaiah 53:1-5, 1 Peter 2:24, Exodus 15:26, Matthew 8:17 and scores of other passages attest to this.If we accept sickness as a valid part of life, we are allowing a foreign god to rule in our lives.

We do however live in an imperfect world and certain things can come our way. The real issue is not what happens but what we do or how we respond.We shall address many of these issues in due course, but look at sickness as an example of how to handle things.

Permit me to share some illustrations from personal experience.

Several years ago, the Lord spoke with me about this topic and asked me, “What is a foreign god?” I shall try to share part of the answer with you, using

some personal illustrations, a discourse on idols and finishing with practical issues.

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My son Gary died at age 39. The Lord raised him from the dead and he remained alive for twelve hours, giving his brother and me time to arrive and to receive Jesus as Saviour before passing into glory.

I went through a divorce and Pastor acquaintances in the denomination to which I then belonged treated me like a leper, but God had a plan.

Marge was a widow when I met her many years later but she had lost a son not long after birth and had several miscarriages before then.

We have both gone through a recent series of illnesses that were mysterious to say the least.

I developed a body rash and went to the doctor and it was discovered that my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were too high and that my kidneys were operating at 47%, being diminished in size.

The causes were unknown and prescribed medication had such a bad reaction, I had to stop taking them.I chose to believe what God said about healing and we stood on the word of God.

We did not ignore the symptoms as they were real. They were fact, but were not truth according to God’s word.

We kept confessing the relative word of God to us, made positive faith affirmations, “By His stripes we are healed” based on God’s word and told those illnesses that they were foreign to us and had to leave.

I am pleased to say that my rash is gone and blood pressure and blood counts are back to normal and Marge’s health is restored.

We also did the practical things such as modifying our diet, drinking plenty of fresh water, getting proper sleep and exercise and maintaining good healthy lifestyles.

If you and I do our part, God will do His! Until the manifestation comes, keep picturing it in your mind and start speaking the creative word of God that applies to your situation.

Do not accept the devil’s lies. If all you can do, when you are faced with adversity, tell him about Calvary; talk about the blood; speak God’s word.

If there are no lies in Heaven, anything that is a lie is a foreign god, so speak truth. Truth always prevails. Light always overcomes darkness, so choose light and truth right now.

In like manner, people speak about poverty as if it was a godly virtue. That too is a lie from the pit of hell. I am not talking about a prosperity doctrine—a blab it and grab it doctrine, but a sound biblically based stand for the truth on poverty. Jesus redeemed us from the curse and poverty is part of the curse.The streets in Heaven are made of solid gold and precious gems abound, so what we call physical riches are not foreign to God. They should not be so on the earth. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!The poverty mentality pervades the Church so much that people accept it as a lifestyle and many try to tell you that God keeps us poor to make us humble.That is untrue. True humility is a choice The bible teaches us that we humble ourselves before God. We are told to deliberately humble ourselves before God and He will promote us! See James 4:10.False humility is a form of pride. Think of it.

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You may ask what this has to do about false gods.

Let me answer by taking you back to the time when God had called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

In exodus chapter twelve, the Passover was instituted and the firstborn of everything that included man and beast that was not under the covering of that blood, died. Pharaoh set the people free and on the way out, Israel took immense wealth with them. It was their back pay for 430 years.

These were a people who were heirs of Abraham. We also are heirs of Abraham. They were in covenant relationship with God, but because of 430 years of living under pagan oppression, the false gods and idols of Egypt had been confronting them, perhaps programming them to accept (even subconsciously) that they were normal.

We live in a world that is not perfect. It is a system that is controlled and manipulated by what Paul said is the god (lower case g) of this world who has blinded people’s eyes for a purpose. It is so that they cannot see what Jesus has done for them. If they could, they would believe and become saved, so the devil does all he can in an attempt to hide the truth. He is devious. He is a master at deceit and creates smokescreens, instils fear and doubt into people’s minds and presents a very plausible counterfeit to the real. This counterfeit is on religious lines in one guise or another. Thankfully, truth always prevails and we are not ignorant of his devices. One of my tasks is to help reveal the truth to people so that they can make a quality decision to join the winning team!

Paul also said- I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. Romans 12:1-3.

He is saying several things here.

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In essence we are instructed to reprogram our way of thinking, much like one reprograms a computer. Before we met Jesus we were living in that world system but now that we have come out of it, we have been translated into a different way of life and live in the kingdom of God. We are like the grub that turned into a chrysalis and then emerged as a beautiful butterfly, that is in essence a brand new creation. See 2 Corinthians 5:17.Paul told us not to allow that world system to squeeze us into its mould. He also said that we should not have too high an opinion of ourselves which is bordering on such areas as pride and vanity.Conversely speaking, we are not to have too low an opinion of ourselves and put ourselves down. This is the area we shall be investigating shortly.We need to understand what Jesus did for us and our position before God as a result.

It truly is amazing and does require a degree of revelation to fully comprehend it. Look at one of Paul’s prayers in this regard...

For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things— That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins. Colossians 1:9-14.

You are accepted in the Beloved my friend. You are a child of the living God; Bone of His bone; Part of his Body; A living stone in His Church; Set free from sin, guilt and condemnation. That should give you something to jump with glee over, so go on. Give a big shout right now. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

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The Ten Commandments are but a few of the many various ordinances given that embrace a whole way of life. They are practical and relate to everyday living as well as to worship and spiritual matters.Later in Exodus, starting at chapter 25, God revealed the plan and construction of the Tabernacle and the priesthood and when he was up on the mountain, God gave him the tablets of stone written with His own hand. During his absence, the people made a golden calf! The ink wasn’t even dry and the people made an idol, saying that they would go after other gods and started worshipping the golden calf.

The point I wish to make is that man, created in the image and likeness of God, has a capacity and inbuilt desire to fellowship with his Creator and worship.

You may call it a God-shaped vacuum, but it is there and that inner craving must find release.

The devil does not want God to receive it, so he does everything he can to offer a substitute or a counterfeit. Even in the

guise of religion, man wants to reach out in some way to God and if he does not find the truthful way, a substitute comes.

This is why there are so many cults and offshoots and the sad thing is that most of them believe that they are the only ones who have the truth, little realizing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life that they seek.

That calf was made out of the very gold that God had provided back there in Egypt as the departed.

Three months after leaving Egypt, God wanted to speak openly to His people on Mount Sinai. He has not changed. His word has not changed and God still desires communication with us. We have to communicate with Him on His terms however and not according to religious tradition. God had taken the initiative and called Moses up to the Mountain and He came down from the mountain to meet with the people. It was an awesome supernatural noisy event indeed but God did come to His people and He still wants closeness. God then said-

I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot (commandments).Exodus 20:2-6

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They had carried the gold in their hands, but the calf was in their hearts.They were set free physically, but were still in bondage, spiritually and emotionally.

Without the life changing experience of the new birth, one may worship but still be in bondage. We can go to church but never be a Christian. We can go to MacDonalds, but that does not mean that we are hamburgers. You can drive your car into a garage, but that does not mean that you are a car. One is a Christian because he or she has received Jesus and embraced all that He did for us. Religion has nothing to do with it.

Knowing this, God showed Moses how to deal with the sin issue through the various festivals and sacrifices made in the Tabernacle and the subsequent Temple.

Unfortunately, man being as man is, we tend to hold onto the temporary things with the result that we focus on them, rather on God. Doing that puts the experience or the object first and at that point it becomes an idol or a false god. Even though it may have been a good thing at the time, even used by God, it can become an object of worship in itself. Sadly many “churches” have fallen into that trap.

For example, when Moses was leading the people through the wilderness, they came to a particular place where there was an infestation of poisonous snakes. People started to die when bitten so cried out to God for help. He instructed Moses to fashion a brass serpent, affix it to a pole that was lifted up and instruct the people to gaze upon this if bitten (see Numbers 21:4-9). It worked! The problem is that they moved on and left those snakes behind. That brass serpent was a tool God used for a particular task at a particular time, but was no longer required.Hundreds of hears later, the people had made that God-given tool into an idol and were worshipping it! A prophet came and burned the thing, calling it a Nehushtan (see 2 Kings 18:4).

This is why I said that many churches have fallen into the trap of holding onto something once great and wonderful—something God once did or used, but is no longer using and it can become a snare to them as an idol.

I came from an Anglican background and, like other denominations such as the Catholics, we had statues, pictures and artifacts that hold religious significance.

I am not suggesting for a moment that they do not have significance and I do not intend to be critical or offensive, but I do wonder if they may have become idols, given the terminologies I have already depicted?Was I worshipping that particular statue, or a cross? After all, they are images and statues and God had specifically said that such things are not to be in our lives. It is food for thought.What startled me more however was that decades later, when I had left that Church to become pastor of a full-gospel, word of faith church, the Lord challenged me one evening as He asked me that opening question, “What is a foreign God?”We went through all the illustrations I just mentioned and more and He explained that we can make anything an idol or a false god.

What startled me is that He said we can worship the ministry! We can worship our church! We can worship a pastor. We can worship…worship! How is this possible? It can happen when we put those things first instead of putting God—as a person first.We are to give credit where credit is due. If, however we overemphasize things or place people on too high a pedestal then it can be risky for them and for us.Revering them excessively is a form of worship. It can also be harmful to people in several ways as they may become proud or overwhelmed. I hold ministers with great respect, because they represent or should represent God, but I refuse to revere them. Like Paul, I respect the position, if not the person. In Acts 23:1-5, Paul was

before the council and the high priest Ananias commanded someone to punch him in the mouth.Paul responded and told him how dare he do that, calling Ananias a whited wall. Those near Paul asked him why he dared speak that way to God’s high priest and Paul apologized. Ananias was in error but Paul was also wrong, because he showed disrespect for someone occupying an official office.

Whilst I may disagree with someone’s politics or religious expressions, I am conscious of the fact that (a) I do not know everything, (b) I make my own mistakes and (c) no one can occupy an office without God’s permission. See Ephesians 4:8-13, Psalm 75:6-7, Daniel 2:21.

I remember sharing with a Catholic friend how I became involved in the Catholic Charismatic renewal and how I once related very closely with some priests with whom I was invited to share communion. He was horrified! He told me that I should never have done that, as it was reserved only for those who had been confirmed.I thought that all Jesus’ followers could share communion to remember what He did for everyone. He added that those priests should never have done that.

I never told him that I once spent time with a Catholic Bishop in his private office as we shared on many things and as we closed, he asked me to join in prayer. I reached out and laid my hands on him and prayed for the man, asking God to give him wisdom to led his people well.

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He was so thankful and received it. Imagine a Protestant and a Pentecostal at that doing such a thing!It was not a matter of agreeing with him and his doctrines or not, but a matter of reaching out to another human being in friendship and the love of Christ and being a blessing to the man. Who pastors the pastors? We need to see more people standing by each other regardless of denominational differences.

It hurts me to see the Christian Church split asunder by bigotry and certain groups refusing to relate to others. I suppose there is cause to remain aloof at times, but not for the sake of not relating to others because they wear a different college tie, or sing different songs.

It seems that individual groups may have their own particular Nehushtans and in the process, many wonderful people may miss out on experiencing what God has for them, perhaps going to hell because they were not told the truth.

In the circles I once moved in, we often relate to times when God moved and often long for a return to those days. It sounds a good thing, but is it really, or have we built a monument? Monuments become movements and when the impetus has died, people fall into a rut. One definition of a rut is a grave without ends.When the pillar of cloud that moved on, Israel had to follow or be left behind.God is always on the move. He never changes and His word never changes, but He is…not was!If He moves, we must move with Him or we will create a monument to a movement and such monuments often

become idols but that is enough of that for now—enough negativity.Let us look at something more constructive that I trust will bring release and blessing to you.

I realize that we may not all have physical shrines in our homes, but we could have something in our lives that takes too much time and attention. Such things may inadvertently become objects of worship. I had them. My wife had them and you may have had them.

Due to life itself, we can dedicate all or parts of our lives to impress others, to build up self-worth and esteem and spend so much time on them that we put them foremost in our lives with the result that they place God second-best.

If so, whatever it is, regardless of its relative merit or worth becomes an idol.Perhaps you have shed tears over it; prayed much about it and talked almost incessantly about it. It is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. A good case study is Leah. She was the ugly one; the one with the tooth missing and the wart on the end of her nose.

In Genesis 29, Jacob arrived at the well of Haran and saw a beautiful girl called Rachel. The poor man was smitten. I know that feeling. My First Lady Marjorie did that to me and I have never been the same since, but we are talking of Jacob the con man who got conned.He asked Laban for Rachel’s hand in marriage and served him for 7 years before he could marry her. The problem with that was that she was the younger of two daughters, the older being Leah.

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I did her an injustice earlier. She was not ugly. The bible says that she was tender eyed and this means that she was a soft, gentle, delicate woman. She may or may not have been weak physically, but she was a truly wonderful woman, but the problem was that Jacob had fallen love with her sister.

During those seven years, his affection towards Rachel must have become evident. A courtship may have developed but not the point of the actual intimacy of marriage and Leah would have seen this, knowing that she was supposed to marry first according to custom. You women will probably understand her emotions better then me, but I imagine that she had to have had deep-seated emotions that could have included envy and jealousy.During those seven years, a rising resentment may have generated, with the knowledge that her father should have given her in marriage first.

Perhaps she started to wonder if there was something wrong with her.People can develop all sorts of problems in their lives for such reasons. A child may stutter or have some deficiency somewhere and start to compensate.

I had a tremendous inferiority complex as a teenager and it caused me all kinds of grief. I’d cry with the sheer frustration at my supposed weaknesses and often retreat.Sibling rivalry paid a small part in my life as it must have between these two women. It was not until I met Jesus and He set me free from those emotional distresses that I can now look in the mirror and tell that man staring at me that he is OK! You aught to try something like that at times. Go on! Do it now. Stare at that person in the mirror and tell him or her, “I love you! You’re OK! We are going to make it! You are a winner”!

The time came for the wedding and Jacob was deceived, marrying the wrong woman. He served another 7 years for the one he really loved. The bible says that he loved Rachel more than Leah. Imagine the emotional turmoil, envy and jealousy that existed in their lives. This is where Leah got off track and started trying to appease Jacob. It was a form of idolatry.

By comparison, God deemed Leah to have been hated.Leah had a son and called him Reuben, saying that this would win Jacob’s love. She had another son named Simeon and another son called Levi (see Genesis 29:31-35) all the while trying to win his favour and affection.Instead of focussing on her successes, she looked on what happened as failures.Jacob still did not love her as she wished.Meanwhile, Rachel envied her and, with the wrong motivation, gave her maid Bilhah to him and she had two sons, one named Dan and the other named Naphthali. Please note her motives-

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And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. Genesis 30:8

Both of those women were putting Jacob on a pedestal. We aught to give honor and respect to our spouses, giving correct commendations where appropriate, but not to revere them.

At this point, I want to say something to the men. Husbands—love your wives. Treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves. Read Ephesians 5:25 that states- Husbands, love your wives.That is no mere suggestion, but a commandment. Now before you ladies wink at each other or poke your husbands in the ribs and say, “See that”, look at your part. It is found in verse 22.

I well remember the time Marge and I first met. She was courting me and arranged for a picnic lunch in a park on my mountain. I started to wash my breakfast dishes and prepare for her arrival en-route to the park when the Lord suddenly spoke so powerfully, I was startled, almost dropping the dishes. He said, “You look after her and you treat her right.” I replied that we were only going to have a picnic and He retorted, “You heard Me! You treat her right”.We were only friends then. There was no romance. We shook hands and our only real dates were at a Christian convention. I behaved like a perfect gentleman. God had a plan and it included our marriage. It is truly a marriage made in Heaven.

Something however, was out of order in the marriage of Mr and Mrs Jacob’s marriage!

Leah was struggling with her own image and was trying too hard to please her husband by having children. When she could not have any more, she gave her maid to him.She wanted to win Jacob’s love at all costs. Whilst it may be a good thing in one way as their customs were to have heirs and children were a heritage, raising a family is not all it is always said to be. Some couples do not have children, some by choice and others because of other factors. Rejoice!Children are lovely little things whilst they are cute and cuddly babies, but when they get older, some of them can become right little terrors and cause much heartache to loving parents. Being a grandparent is great! You can dote on them and spoil them rotten, knowing that you can send them home later, but I am waffling now, let us return to Leah!

Leah was full of turmoil and conflict in her attempts to win her husband’s love.Whenever we relate in an area that is out of balance for such reasons, we are risking making the very person we want to love and win over an idol. We spend too much time trying. We cry over them. We fuss over them. We think constantly about them. We imagine them to be what they may not ever be and in the process, we hurt ourselves. Sometimes, I feel, we may drive them away by trying too hard! Let them Go!

Let God do what God alone can do. Pray about it and commit the situation into His hands and do not take it back.

Many people bury the past and rightly so, but do not keep returning to the grave. It keeps reminding you of that past. Never have an exhumation ceremony. That is worse yet. We can easily tie things to a cord and pull them out again later and ponder over them for a while and the cycle continues. If a loved one has died and is with Jesus, do not mourn and grieve forever, because it will avail nothing and cause you more heartache. You could be worshipping a memory! You could be making that good time, a fond previous relationship or anything, including the bad things a Nehustan. If so, that is quite likely going to be where you will remain forever. It is true that weeping comes in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

In Jacob’s household, things were out of order until Judah was born. Judah means praise. Instead of lamenting, the relationship changed into joy and rejoicing and they were able to freely praise God.

No one can truly praise God if they remain in a what could have been situation. The if only’s of life can drag us down and ensnare us. I almost fell into that trap and started to talk about it on almost every occasion I opened my mouth. Like Job, I lost everything in life, but, like Job, my end is greater than my beginning. Instead of bewailing the loss and worshipping it by default, I saw what God had ahead and embraced that. Everything changed then.

If, by some form of definition, is not spending too much time and effort over anyone or anything putting them ahead of God thus making that an object of worship?

Sure we are to have a burden and care for another. I am not suggesting that we do not care, but asking you and myself to ensure we get our priorities right.In Matthew 10:37, Jesus said-

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

He was speaking about a whole range of matters there, but it also shows how much He wants us to place Him foremost in our lives. God wants us to be united, not divided. He wants us to be in unity and in harmony. There is no doubt of that, but I am relating to some areas of life when a person might have things a little out of balance and their priorities not precisely right. In such cases, it just might be possible that God may have been relegated to second place.

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When we put God first in all things, everything else of legitimate concern to us finds its correct place and balance is established. There may be an idol, or something that has taken our attention—stolen our first love and emotions from a loving God who is always there with open arms waiting to receive you and bless you.

It could be a failed marriage, a lost job, a childhood rivalry, an unfulfilled expectation. Whatever it is, bury it. Let it go, because if this is not done you and I will live in the past. Your past never sees your future and God has a great future for all of us.If necessary, confront the Jacob in your life. I am not saying that this is always easy. It often isn’t but the One who cares and the One who is the burden bearer can help.

The things that hurt you and disappointed you can and often do scar, but the Great Physician can and does heal those wounds. Allow Him to do that.

When you do, your own Judah can be birthed.

As I close, I would like to pray for you and pray with you. I might not be able to physically place my hands on you, but that does not matter. The words Jesus spoke are spirit and they are life and as His follower, the words I speak to you are also spirit and they are life.

I speak liberty and freedom to you and on you. I say that those false foreign gods in your life and what were in my life are smashed and gone forever, never to return.

I declare liberty to you and let the peace of God descend and remain on you now.

Be blessed,

Robert

In our modern times we tend to regard idols as objects of worship in heathen lands where ignorant people sacrifice and make offerings.We may think of such things as the golden calf that Israel made in the wilderness, little realizing that such attitudes could be false or misleading.

Idols have taken on a different disguise. Idols are things to which we could yield something in one form or another or try to appease. Even though we may not have any physical object we bow to, we may have a false or a foreign god in our life, but this poses a question, “What is a foreign god?”

In his attempt to answer such questions, Pastor Robert Carter elaborates and may provide some answers that could bless and liberate you.

This is a Bashan Ministries publication:P.O. Box 152

Mount Tamborine QLD 4272 AustraliaEmail info@bashanminstries.orgWeb www.bashanministries.org

NO OTHER GODS