This is the last point and the review in my devotional at creation....
IDOLS OF TODAY
Entertainment is a large idol of our world today. Some things this includes are movies, food, sports, and MUSIC! None of the those are necessarily bad, but they can be. You need to be careful what you are focusing on, this world is not Christ centered and wants you to focus on their product that they are selling you. The reason I bring up this last point is because we are at a huge music festival, and music can tend to be our focus, or in other word or “idol” while we are here. You need to make sure that the reason you are here the reason you are listening to the music is for the glory of God, not for your own personal ejoyment. If Christ is truly your idol you will stive to please him. I found this verse a while ago in my morning devotions that apply to this whole topic of getting rid of your idols,it is 1 Samuel 12:20, "And Samuel said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart'." At the end there it says with ALL of your heart, you can't serve your idol and God. You must serve him alone, God must be your idol.
CONCLUSION
1. LOCATE THE IDOL IN YOUR LIFE
2.. GET RID OF THE IDOL PUT IT AWAY OR ABOLISH IT
3. MAKE YOUR HEART RIGHT BEFORE GOD
4. MAKE THE LORD YOUR IDOL, YOUR ONE CONSOMING PASSION
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Moment of Silence
I believe this is important. I ask only one thing, give one moment of silence just to commemroate the one year aniversary of this blog........well now that is done you can go on with life.
the luggnut
P.S. I do this to break up the seriousnesses of late in this blog. It is not a bad thing to be serious but I thought that it might put a little smile into your day! I will give you some serious material in the next post. Now that my post script is longer than my original script I will stop makeing a fool of my self and my blog.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Idols(part three)
Here is the second part to my devotional for creation. Here is the second point...
IDOLS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
If you have your copy of Gods word please turn to the book of Jonah. Most of you know the story of Jonah. If you don’t remember it I will give a quick recap of the story. The Lord comes to Jonah the Prophet and tells him to go to Nineveh and call out against the great evils that have been going on there. Well, he doesn’t like that idea and so he gets onto a ship and tries to flee to Tarshish. On the way, the Lord sends a great storm, it is so bad it is threatening to tear the boat apart. The men wonder whose fault it for this great storm and they decide that it is Jonah’s. And so, Jonah tells them that he is fleeing from the Lord’s will and to throw him over board. After he is thrown overboard a great fish eats him and he spends three days and nights praying in the belly. The fish ended up spitting him out on the shores of Nineveh where the Lord had wanted him to go in the first place. He went and did what he was supposed to do and life went on.
Well, the whole point to bringing up the story of Jonah is because it shows us very clearly the steps going from and idol centered life style to a Christocentric life style.
What is Jonah’s idol in this story? It is HIMSELF! He was not willing to go through persecution for the salvation of others. Nineveh was infamous for its cruelty, and he knew how they would react to his teachings.
Well there are two steps that go on during this story that bring Jonah from a self centered view to a Christ centered view. There is a physical and a spiritual. So he flees from the Lords will and gets on a ship. The big storm comes and the ship is about to crack and all the other men are wondering why is this happening and Jonah steps forward and says that he is a Hebrew and that he is fleeing from the Lord in verse 9. And what did he do next? What did he do to start himself in the right direction, to get himself where he was supposed be? He had them throw him overboard. This is the physical part of the process, it is to totally do away with the idol, get rid of it, throw it out of your life. He did not think he was going to live, he was being thrown into the sea! He know that he was the problem and so he was going to take care of it. So step number on do away with or abolish the idol.
The fish came and swallowed Jonah and he spent three days and three nights in its belly. This where the second step takes place which is the most important part, the spiritual. While he was in the fish he prayed and made his heart right. He realized his total dependence on God and he acknowledges God’s sovereignty. You have to realize that dealing with idols is a heart issue. Notice that he was not where he was supposed to be until his heart was made right. The physical aspect helps only in getting your heart right to the focus back on God. If you just did the physical without making your heart right, what would stop from making a new idol besides God? Again the heart issue is the most important.
IDOLS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
If you have your copy of Gods word please turn to the book of Jonah. Most of you know the story of Jonah. If you don’t remember it I will give a quick recap of the story. The Lord comes to Jonah the Prophet and tells him to go to Nineveh and call out against the great evils that have been going on there. Well, he doesn’t like that idea and so he gets onto a ship and tries to flee to Tarshish. On the way, the Lord sends a great storm, it is so bad it is threatening to tear the boat apart. The men wonder whose fault it for this great storm and they decide that it is Jonah’s. And so, Jonah tells them that he is fleeing from the Lord’s will and to throw him over board. After he is thrown overboard a great fish eats him and he spends three days and nights praying in the belly. The fish ended up spitting him out on the shores of Nineveh where the Lord had wanted him to go in the first place. He went and did what he was supposed to do and life went on.
Well, the whole point to bringing up the story of Jonah is because it shows us very clearly the steps going from and idol centered life style to a Christocentric life style.
What is Jonah’s idol in this story? It is HIMSELF! He was not willing to go through persecution for the salvation of others. Nineveh was infamous for its cruelty, and he knew how they would react to his teachings.
Well there are two steps that go on during this story that bring Jonah from a self centered view to a Christ centered view. There is a physical and a spiritual. So he flees from the Lords will and gets on a ship. The big storm comes and the ship is about to crack and all the other men are wondering why is this happening and Jonah steps forward and says that he is a Hebrew and that he is fleeing from the Lord in verse 9. And what did he do next? What did he do to start himself in the right direction, to get himself where he was supposed be? He had them throw him overboard. This is the physical part of the process, it is to totally do away with the idol, get rid of it, throw it out of your life. He did not think he was going to live, he was being thrown into the sea! He know that he was the problem and so he was going to take care of it. So step number on do away with or abolish the idol.
The fish came and swallowed Jonah and he spent three days and three nights in its belly. This where the second step takes place which is the most important part, the spiritual. While he was in the fish he prayed and made his heart right. He realized his total dependence on God and he acknowledges God’s sovereignty. You have to realize that dealing with idols is a heart issue. Notice that he was not where he was supposed to be until his heart was made right. The physical aspect helps only in getting your heart right to the focus back on God. If you just did the physical without making your heart right, what would stop from making a new idol besides God? Again the heart issue is the most important.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Idols (part two)
Forgive me, for not posting in a sickening like a month and a half. This is the devotional that I did for our group at creation. It is quite long and so I am going to give it to you in shorter sections. This is the introduction and the first point. Here it is...
Today my title for my devotional is Christocentric Living, some of you might be asking yourself, “What does that word mean?”. Well it simply means Christ centered living. The only way to achieve the goal of having a Christ centered life is too make sure that there are no idols in your life that are hindering you from have a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
My goal today is to show you how to locate idols in you life and how to get your focus back on the Lord.
Well I have three major points for this morning, first: The definition of idolatry, second: Idols in the Old Testament, and point number three: Idols of Today.
THE DEFINITION OF IDOLATRY
I am going to give you four very direct definitions of idolatry just to help make sure that we all are sure what idolatry really means.
1: Worshiping something other than the true God in the true way
2: The thing that you love or trust more than God
3: Whatever us men depend upon for strength
4: Whatever governs your affections
To locate an idol in you life ask yourself these questions, Where are you placing your loves? In the quiet times during the day when you are just sitting there thinking, what is the first thing you think about? What are you trusting more than God? What are you depending on for strength? What is governing your affections? Have you thought about how ridiculous having an idol is? Here you have Jesus Christ who bled and died on the cross for you, and yet you still turn and go back to these vain idols in your life. People, he created you! He is a jealous God and deserves all our worship and praise. Exodus 34:14 says, “For you shall worship no other God, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” 1 Chronicles 16:25-26, For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord mad the heavens.” And yet you are thanking him by worshiping something that he created! Romans 1:25 says, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, whose is blessed forever! Amen. That is mind set of this world exactly, to worship the creation but not the creator.
We are commanded all over Scripture to have nothing before Christ in our life or not to have any idols in your life. What is the first commandment? Anybody remember? YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME! And yet we still worship something else. There are tons of verses in the Bible that state so clearly that our one and only passion in life should be the Lord and thing of Him. This past weekend 0ne28, our church youth group, had a camping trip and the theme of the trip was Christ is Life. The title Christ is life was derived from Colossians 3:4 which says: :When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Notice that it doesn’t say Christ is in your life, but it says Christ who IS your life! Is not just supposed to be in amongst everything in your life, but he is supposed to be your one consuming passion, your driving force, your one and only true love in life. He is to permeate every area in life, he is to be the main influence in your life. My brother made a great analogy when he was teaching at camp, he said that Christ is supposed to be the ocean and us along with everything else in life are to be the boats in the ocean. He is to be your idol.
Today my title for my devotional is Christocentric Living, some of you might be asking yourself, “What does that word mean?”. Well it simply means Christ centered living. The only way to achieve the goal of having a Christ centered life is too make sure that there are no idols in your life that are hindering you from have a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
My goal today is to show you how to locate idols in you life and how to get your focus back on the Lord.
Well I have three major points for this morning, first: The definition of idolatry, second: Idols in the Old Testament, and point number three: Idols of Today.
THE DEFINITION OF IDOLATRY
I am going to give you four very direct definitions of idolatry just to help make sure that we all are sure what idolatry really means.
1: Worshiping something other than the true God in the true way
2: The thing that you love or trust more than God
3: Whatever us men depend upon for strength
4: Whatever governs your affections
To locate an idol in you life ask yourself these questions, Where are you placing your loves? In the quiet times during the day when you are just sitting there thinking, what is the first thing you think about? What are you trusting more than God? What are you depending on for strength? What is governing your affections? Have you thought about how ridiculous having an idol is? Here you have Jesus Christ who bled and died on the cross for you, and yet you still turn and go back to these vain idols in your life. People, he created you! He is a jealous God and deserves all our worship and praise. Exodus 34:14 says, “For you shall worship no other God, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” 1 Chronicles 16:25-26, For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord mad the heavens.” And yet you are thanking him by worshiping something that he created! Romans 1:25 says, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, whose is blessed forever! Amen. That is mind set of this world exactly, to worship the creation but not the creator.
We are commanded all over Scripture to have nothing before Christ in our life or not to have any idols in your life. What is the first commandment? Anybody remember? YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME! And yet we still worship something else. There are tons of verses in the Bible that state so clearly that our one and only passion in life should be the Lord and thing of Him. This past weekend 0ne28, our church youth group, had a camping trip and the theme of the trip was Christ is Life. The title Christ is life was derived from Colossians 3:4 which says: :When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Notice that it doesn’t say Christ is in your life, but it says Christ who IS your life! Is not just supposed to be in amongst everything in your life, but he is supposed to be your one consuming passion, your driving force, your one and only true love in life. He is to permeate every area in life, he is to be the main influence in your life. My brother made a great analogy when he was teaching at camp, he said that Christ is supposed to be the ocean and us along with everything else in life are to be the boats in the ocean. He is to be your idol.
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