"Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him" - Luke 4:8 (NIV).

It is the US President Abraham Lincoln who once said that a house divided against itself can't stand. He was referring to the American civil war (1861-4) where the southern states fought to separate from Northern states divided over the issue of slavery. Eventually the North won and the union was preserved.

Just as it is with nation states or kingdoms, the same holds in the spiritual realm. If our loyalty to God is divided between his kingdom and that of Satan then how can we prosper! But sometimes this is exactly the case with a war of divided loyalties raging within us and denying us of deserved prosperity.

We clearly see this when we find those professing Christ also practicing a worship of other gods. Some call it syncretism, which is a combination of different religious beliefs into one. It's quite common in some places to find a church lay reader with an ancestral shrine at the back of his house!

One thing we know is that ours is a jealous God. "You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods" (Exodus 20:5). When our loyalties are divided between Christ and Satan we do not only hinder blessings to flow in our lives but invite the wrath of God upon us. As they entered the promised land, the Israelites were warned, "But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,  I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed" (Deuteronomy 30:17-18).

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, today I pray that you are my only God whom I worship in spirt and truth for there is no other God but you alone, this I pray in Jesus's name.