Thought for Tuesday, February 5th

February 5, 2013

And the Idol Is….

Is there an idol in your life?

        And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:1-6

“Idolatry is huge in the Bible, dominant in our personal lives, and irrelevant in our mistaken estimations.”

-       Os Guinness

Most, if not practically all, Christians would scoff at the notion of idols being a part of our modern daily walk: yet there are probably more idols today than you can shake a stick at.

Kyle Idleman wrote in his book Gods at War:  “Idolatry isn’t just one of many sins; it’s the one great sin that all others come from.  So if you start scratching at whatever struggle you’re dealing with, eventually you’ll find that underneath it is a false god.  Until that god is dethroned and the Lord God takes his rightful place, you will not have victory.”

Basically, anything that you are devoted too that controls your drives, your actions or your thoughts could be defined as a false god or an idol.

And God does not want us to have anything in our lives that take a priority to Him.

The following lyrics to a Gaither Vocal Band song, would be a good commitment for us to make each day:

So,  I'll Worship Only At The Feet Of Jesus,
His Cup Alone, My Holy Grail,
there'll Be No Other Gods Before Him,
just Jesus Only Will Never Fail.
- Bill and Gloria Gaither (lyrics from ‘I’ll Worship Only’)

We need to remember this about our God:

You are not a god created by human hands;

You are not a god dependent on any mortal man;

You are not a god in need of anything we can give,

By your plan, that’s just the way it is.

You’re the only God whose power none can contend;

You’re the only God whose name and praise will never end;

You’re the only God who’s worthy of everything we can give;

You are God, that’s just the way it is.

-       Billy and Cindy Foote (lyrics from ‘You Are God Alone’)

If we have anything, be it a job, an interest, a hobby or even an approach to worship that is more important and takes more of our attention than God does, then we need to reassess it’s place in our priorities.

Today’s Prayer

Father, may you always be my first desire, my immediate focus and everything I long for and strive towards.