And this ‘fraud’ has already crawled into the spiritual or religious life of many who look as if they do not to care if the one whom they are worshipping is the true God or a false one. They have become victims of the most dangerous and destructive fraud of all time by letting themselves just go with the flow without checking for their genuineness, not like when they purchase a laptop or other modern gadgets. They have been blind of what false Gods have been offering them.

For one’s religious worship to be genuine, he should simply worship the true God, which requires knowing first the true identity of the true and living God. Man cannot possibly worship God, and cannot be brought to salvation, if he does not know Him.  False Gods or idols made by men are certainly not the true God taught by the Bible and should never be recognized, much less, worshipped. People who seem to worship idols as their Gods seem to be silly because these highly-valued objects are in fact worthless.

But of course, it isn’t just enough to know who the true God is. It isn’t adequate that you know from your brothers the true God. You must accompany it by true worship. Man himself must be true and his worship must also be genuine because not all kinds of worship are acceptable to Him. There are various accounts in the Bible where people are worshipping him but do not amount to anything, although those people have exerted a lot of effort and invested a lot of money and time. They have even sacrificed for the sake of God, but to God’s wisdom, they mean nothing.

Indeed, it is always best to stand for truth and to turn back to what is false. We must always seek and obey what is true and factual because this will lead us to God and salvation. In this unkind world, there are incredibly many forms of fraud and it takes a lot of effort and serious true faith to know which ones are authentic and which ones are not. Truly, we must cling on to the truth so that when temptation comes, we wouldn’t be carried away. There is one true God and he deserves true worship from us.

In Joshua 3 and 4, the Israelites build a memorial to mark the Lord’s amazing deliverance for them. During that time, Joshua and the nation of Israel are preparing to cross the river and to take the first bold step of conquering the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. But there seems to be a big problem. Joshua and the nation of Israel faced the river at its flood stage with strong and rapid currents. However, they did not focus on the dangers but obeyed God’s command. Joshua told the people that on that day they would know that the God they worshipped is a living God who is living among them. Oftentimes, we too may be faced with daunting challenges in life – challenges in the form of financial difficulties, sickness, addiction, relationship problems or other bondages. But, God is reminding us that like the Israelites, we should not focus on the danger or on the seeming impossibilities of crossing the river but on Him – we should take that bold step of faith and obey no matter what. God is assuring us that He will fulfill His promise, will deliver us and will be with us. God is in the habit of keeping all of His promises. As He was with the nation of Israel throughout their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, so will He also be with us in our Christian walk. We can count on God to be with us all the way, from beginning to end. God said, “Lo, I will be with you even to the end of the age.” God had given the Israelites very specific instructions before they could claim the Promised Land. They had to cross the flooded Jordan River and in order to do it, they had to take that first step into the water. Similarly, if we want to experience God’s goodness, we too must let go, trust God and take that step of faith. Like the Israelites, we must step into the water and get wet. If we want to experience God’s blessings, we must learn to surrender our lives. If we want to experience God’s blessing and promises, we must be a blessing to others.

God instructed the Israelites to construct a memorial marker on the banks of the Jordan River so that whenever they return to that spot, they would be reminded of God’s awesome power, salvation and deliverance. Similarly, we should have spiritual markers to remind us of how powerful and how faithful our God is. And the best starting point would be, having a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and Lord would be the best spiritual marker to start with.