Flee Idolatry

Flee Idolatry
The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church, a church that was surrounded with idol worship and a myriad of temptations said,

“Therefore, my dear friends, 

flee from idolatry.” 

                            1 Corinthians 10:14.

At the very beginning of the Ten Commandments God states,

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt,

 out of the land of slavery. 

“You shall have no other gods before me. 

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven 

above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  

You shall not bow down to them or worship them;...” 

                                                                   Exodus 20: 2-4a.

We who live at the beginning of the twenty-first century have idols all around us. We may not consider them idols but they are. Anything that we hold in higher esteem than God is an idol.
We see our idols in the media every day. Be they fancy consumer goods. The acquisition of wealth ahead of worship of God. Even our cars, and homes.
These things may not seem like God’s after all they are inanimate objects and in and of themselves are harmless.
That was the same with the idols in Corinth. The carved statues to the Greek god’s were just stone. Harmless.
The harm comes however when we as individuals start to believe that such things have the power to change our lives. That they will give us a better life, or meaning in our life.
When we start turning to them rather than putting God first in our lives and worshipping him alone.
Matthew’s Gospel records the temptations of Christ. The third temptation was to worship Satan. Matthew’s Gospel records,
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’” Matthew 4:8-10.
Notice Jesus makes it clear,
“For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’
As believers in Christ Jesus we as individuals need to take stock of our lives and ask ourselves if we have any idols in our lives.
Please if you consider yourself a believer in Christ think about it.

The greatest commandment

The Greatest Commandment

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.” 
                                         Matthew 22:36-38.
How much do you love God? Do you really love God?
Many people say they love God here in North America but all too often their lifestyle say’s they only ‘like God’. They put him in second place, third place or even last place in their priorities of life.
I found this quote from the Zohar that sums up how we should be if we truly love not only God but anyone.
“A man fell in love with a woman who resided in the street of the tanners.  If she had not lived there, he would never have entered this evil-smelling section; but, since she dwells there, the street seems too him like the street of the perfumers.”
                                                                        From the Zohar
A tannery can be a foul smelling place. In ancient days when the Zohar was written a street full of tanners must have been truly horrible.
The point the Zohar is making here is that if you truly love someone it doesn’t matter what the circumstances you will want to be with them no matter what.
That’s how we should be with God and Jesus. We should want to be with him as often as we can.
All to many Christians in this day and age get their priorities mixed up. Serving the Lord or even going to Church is secondary in their lives.
I knew a man he said he loved the Lord. He went to Bible School part time to get his masters degree in theology while he worked full time.
What he was doing was laudable.
He said he wanted to serve the Lord by setting up a church. But the way he spoke to me it seemed that he was doing it in his time, not the Lords.
The company he worked for came first. In addition he worked at a second job to bring in extra income that he really didn’t need. His wife worked and they liked their ‘toys’. He had a nice house, two cars, a boat among other things.
When it came to attending church it seemed that every time it came between overtime at his primary job or extra time at his secondary job he chose them over coming to church.
He seemed to always be putting God second in his life.
Now don’t get me wrong. There are times when people need that second pay cheque. Many people here in North America are living sadly, below the poverty line.
There are also times when we may need to work overtime at our job. That’s just the way life is sometimes.
And having cars, boats, and a nice house is perfectly fine provided they don’t pull us away from God.
We need to look at our priorities. We need to ask ourselves the question do we have any god’s, materialistic things, that we are putting ahead of the Living God?
We may not have graven images or carved idols. But we do have dollar bills, fancy cars, boats, luxury houses and other items we bow down to.
We need to ask our self do we need a boat, the latest smart phone or computer? Is it really necessary for us to have a three hundred thousand dollar house when a hundred fifty thousand one would do just as well?
As I’ve said in the past there is nothing wrong with being wealthy or having all the ‘toys’ our society has to offer but it should not take us away from God.
We need to be asking ourselves is God truly first in our lives?
The writer of Deuteronomy states,
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” 
                                                                        Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
We need to ask ourselves if we are doing what is said here in Deuteronomy.
Jews have an interesting way of following the command set out here in Deuteronomy. They not only keep God in their hearts. But they literally wear God’s words on their foreheads or arms.
They pray morning and evening.
They wear a Tefillin. Tefillin are the two small leather boxes containing verses from the Torah that Jewish men above bar mitzvah age wear during morning prayer services. (They are not worn on Shabbat or most Jewish holidays.)
The boxes are attached to lengthy leather straps that hold the boxes onto the head and the arm. attached to their head and to their arm containing scripture. It is a requirement of all Jewish men above bar mitzvah age. They are not worn on the Sabbath or most Jewish holidays.
On all of the door posts throughout their home they place a Mezuzah a small glass, wood or metal case, containing the most famous Jewish prayer the Shema. A prayer declaring God’s unity and their devotion to Him.
All of what they do has deep spiritual meaning to each individual Jew. As they move through the house they see the Mezuzah and it reminds them of God, and their relationship to Him.
As Christians, we need to I believe remind ourselves daily of our relationship with God.
We need to put God first even if it cost us some overtime at work or a few dollars.
We need to make God the first priority in our life.
Is he in yours?
Think about it.