Those Dumb Idol Worshipers...

Sometimes when I read the Old Testament, I think to myself: Those Israelites are so dumb. Every time they are doing well and are under the Lord's blessing, they go and ruin it for themselves by turning to false gods. Then things go badly for them, they get enslaved by a group of their enemies, they turn back to God, and He forgives them and sets them free again. Then a few years later, they do the exact same thing all over again. This happens dozens of times. I can't figure out why they don't seem to remember what happened the last time they turned to idolatry. Dumb.

Often God will give little insights into your own life through the lives of the people in the Bible. This little one comes like a smack in the face. [This is the original meaning of "Godsmack."] When God became angry because the people were worshiping false gods, I thank the Lord that I am not even tempted to worship Muhammad or Buddha. But I never stop to think about the gods called television, success, music, money, or Facebook. In God's eyes, do you think it makes a difference if we are worshiping the statue of the fat guy made out of metal or the flat screen on our living room wall? What is the one thing you love the most? If it isn't God by a landslide, there's probably an idol problem somewhere. Where are your thoughts during the day? If you've got free time, where does it end up going? 

I realize that I struggle with idolatry a lot more than I thought. I'm not saying that in order to live a godly life, we have to love God's blessings less. We should focus instead on loving God more.

Continual Revelation

Distance. Distance from God. This is the reason I wanted to make this blog. I wanted to make sure the distance never increased, but only decreased.  Revelation about God comes from only from God and from being in His presence. It is not enough to read books about Him or even His Word. My heart and mind must be softened to Him. I could read a thousand books by the most esteemed Christian scholars and preachers, but if my heart was hardened to Him it wouldn't do one lick of good. However, revelation is a side effect of God's presence.

So the idea behind the blog was that my relationship with the Lord would be on display for any (including myself) to see. When I am drifting or not setting apart the time to love Him and get closer to Him, it would be apparent. While I have been away from this blog for many months, I have recently become highly dissatisfied with my personal walk with the Lord and wish to try to make this my "accountability partner" once again. It should not be mandatory that I post daily, but at least every week I should have one or two posts about what the Lord is speaking to me if I am truly listening. God is always speaking. We are rarely listening.

Jeremiah 29:13-14 - "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," says the Lord.


Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Are you seeking God with your whole heart? His Word says you'll find Him if you are. Set aside time today to chase Him with everything you've got. It doesn't matter if you don't have an hour. If you only have ten minutes to spare, give Him ten uninterrupted minutes. See if He won't speak to your heart.

The Meaning of Life

Will you be satisfied with
what you did with yours?

Imagine you are on your deathbed. I want you to take an honest look at your life. Look at what the most fulfilling days have been. Were they the times when you obtained something? Do you remember the greatest times of your life as attached to receiving some great amount of money, gifts, or pleasure? These things are nice, but they are not fulfilling for long. There is no reward or prize that you can receive from any man that gives satisfaction from the perspective of the dying man. Material things are so vain.

The wisest man that ever lived, Solomon, knew this when he was dying. "Everything is meaningless, says the Teacher, completely meaningless! What do people get for all their hard work in the sun?" He wrote in Ecclesiastes all the things that he tried to do to find a satisfying life. In chapter 2, he tried wine, building huge homes for himself, planting beautiful vineyards, gardens parks, bought slaves, owned large herds and flocks, collected great sums of silver and gold, hired wonderful singers, had many beautiful women and "had everything man could desire." (v. 8)  He went on to say "Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless -- like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."

What does matter then? Surely there are things we can be doing with our lives that give lasting satisfaction and truly matter. Solomon concludes his book by saying "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all." (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Living for God is the meaning of life. It is likely that you can see this in the memories that you pictured in your head. The times that were truly fulfilling involved loving others. Pouring time and resources into others. Preaching the gospel. Praising and worshiping the Lord. Obeying His commands. Lets make a commitment today to living with purpose. Stop wasting so much time on things that don't matter and get closer to the One that does.

Heart Check

This revelation is very fresh. Just this morning did I finally see how righteous my life is [hint: not righteous]. God pointed out the wrong in my life so that I can grow closer to Him, and I know He's ready to do the same for you.

God gives us a brief overview of the character of people in these last days. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, "You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.  (2)  For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.  (3)  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.  (4)  They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.  (5)  They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" (NLT)

This is the Word of God, which is always true. We are in the last days right now. Even if that weren't apparent from other passages in the Bible, we can easily see those characteristics in almost all Christians right now. Almost all Christians. We all know that these things are detrimental to our spiritual health. We don't often recognize the kind of representative we are being for God's people. We are acting like the very people that Paul warned us about almost 2000 years ago! You probably see the verses above and picture other people as you read each characteristic. That is foolishness! We have no right to instruct others and highlight their wrongs when our own lives are riddled with evil we are doing nothing about. I want you to be able to see your life for what it is. The view that Satan would rather you not see. Answer the following questions in your head.

Do I love myself and my money more than God? Am I proud, not taking God's commandments seriously? Am I disobedient or dishonoring to my parents? Do I fail to thank God and give Him credit for all that He has done in my life? Do I see anything as sacred? Do I always walk in love toward others as Jesus would? Am I living with unforgiveness in my heart? Do I gossip? Do I lack self-control? Do I tear people down with my words? Am I reckless? Do I think of myself higher than I ought? Do I love pleasure more than I love God? Would my actions suggest Jesus is alive? Do I treat Him like He exists or simply follow the rules? Do I have a religion or a relationship with Him?

These are heavy questions. They highlight all the areas we struggle with daily. They show us our true character and godliness. They take our flaws and shine a bright light on them. Now you have a choice. You can either ignore them or do something about them. If you choose to ignore them, you will regret it one day, but you might think it will be easier for you now. Change is never easy. However, the Holy Spirit will remind you frequently that you have read these words. Then you'll have to choose regularly to ignore the Word of God. That is the path that leads to death. Always. 

You could choose to change. A godly heart change doesn't come easy or quickly, but the reward is far worth it. You will be living a life of purpose. You will be blessed daily and eternally by the Lord. You will receive the promises of financial blessing, joy, peace, and grace, and so much more! (See the Bible for every promise of God to His people) We cannot even fathom the eternal blessing that we will receive after death because we obeyed His Word. God is good! He even makes the method by which we can change simple.

Romans 8:13-14 says "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

Pray this: Lord, I thank you for all that you have done for me. I remember everything that you went through to save me, that I might be able to be with you and walk with you. You love me so much and that is why I love you! Forgive me for what I've done. Forgive me for making my own rules for my life. I'm done doing things my way. Today I choose your way. I want to please You, Lord. Lead me by Your Spirit and keep me on the path of righteousness. In Jesus' name, amen.

Haha! Praise the Lord! He so wants us to be closer to Him that He has given us His Spirit and His Word! Now that you've yielded to His Spirit, get in His Word today to receive more revelation of His great will for your life! Faith begins where the will of God is known!