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    Today, just as in the time of Deuteronomy, we are tempted away from our God by other gods. Perhaps these are not the idols of ancient peoples, but the idols of our age are just as false as the idols of the age that the Israelites found themselves in. Perhaps, the idols of our age are more insidious because they are not always so obvious, and because of that fact they are so much more able to tempt us astray from the way we know we should follow in Christ.
    This is the difficulty of the way that we have been given by faith, but it is not a way that we follow without help. Indeed, God has given us a sure and trustworthy guide on our path to Heaven through the Holy Spirit who comes to us through the Word and the Sacraments. Through regular reading of God’s word and by regularly coming to the Lord’s Table, we receive the direction and the hope which keeps our hearts, minds, and souls firmly focused on matters of faith and turn us away from the idols of this age.
    To this end, the goal of every Christian must be to constantly rededicate themselves to Means of Grace, and in doing so, we follow in the footsteps of our Christian forbearers who, as we see in Acts 2:41-43, did the same and receive strength and blessing though it. By this means, we keep ourselves firmly set upon the path that leads us to Heaven.
DLH
