Gospel News — Jan-Apr 2013

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people, just as Moses chose to suffer affliction with a people of God who didn't want him.

There are brethren who set us a great example in these things. They lost their families because they married a believer and not the one expected for them. Married someone of another race or colour because of their spiritual connection with that person, thus losing the status they might have had within their own culture. They declined promotion in their career because... they wanted to get home each day in time to read Bible stories to their kids. Didn't take out a court case but suffered the loss of so much, didn't answer slander, left God to judge... Spent their spare time and cash going to the Post Office and mailing Bibles to people rather than... tropical beach holidays. Spent their evenings emailing or visiting old, sick, suffering, depressed, difficult or plain awkward brethren... instead of watching telly.

The chain of influence ran from little Moses and Miriam to Bithiah and then back to Moses, through Paul to us today. Our examples have far more power than we ever imagine. Over some issues and at some times, we, like Bithiah and Moses, must stand with our backs to the world. Despised by the world and even by the brotherhood, but so be it. We shall spend eternity day and night serving God... and it would be strange indeed if our lives now were not likewise totally dedicated to the things of the Kingdom into which and for which we were baptized.

--Duncan Heaster

The Worship of Idols

Bro Robert Miwele (Kitwe, Zambia)

"We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no god but one, for even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many gods and many lords) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one lord,

Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live" (1 Cor 8:4-6). This passage tells us clearly that an idol is nothing. We cannot worship an idol instead of worshipping the only true God, the Father of Jesus.

In the Old Testament, we find how three young men refused to worship an idol which king Nebuchadnezzar made and ordered all his people to worship. But Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the idol. This made king Nebuchadnezzar furious and ordered that they be thrown into the furnace (Daniel 3:13-28). The words that give me encouragement are what the three young men replied to the king: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up".

God had given Nebuchadnezzar a lot of gold (Daniel 2:37-38); this made the king proud and he wanted people to worship him. He forgot that it was God who made him possess the gold in abundance and it is God who should be worshipped.

In this age we can be confronted by some lords who will want us believers to obey them rather than our Lord Jesus. We want to remember that there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, whom we should serve.

Recently, (on 28th August 2012), the Catholic Church received a statue from Rome. This happened in Chingola Kasompe Air Strip, here in Zambia and the statue represented one of their saints called Jean Bosco. The statue had one of the hands of Jean Bosco inside it. I was shaken when the announcer on Radio Cengelo Catholic Radio Station reported such a thing. The announcer further stated that only young people attended the procession from the Air Strip into the town centre of Chingola where worship of the statue took place, taking any