Comment: The Holy Scripture abounds with divine warnings and condemnation of mixed worship, a situation in which people serve God and the devil. In his revelations to John the Apostle, our Redeemer while commending the Church at Ephesus for their “works, labour and patience”, upbraided them for having left their first love. They were asked to identify their fault lines and repent lest their understanding or candlestick would be completely taken away. (Revelation 2:1-5) Again, the angel of the church of the Laodiceans were sternly rebuked for being “neither cold nor hot” The text continues: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth”. (Revelation 3:14-16) 

We should be patient and continue to exercise faith in God in spite of tribulations. We should not fall into the devil’s trap of turning to the makeshifts he has set up because we are in dire need of help. “In your patience possess ye your souls” said our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 21:19.  He also “spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint”. (Luke 18:1) “Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.” – Psalm 97:7, 10.