of this post shortly. But,
first, we need to ask what
does our heavenly Father,
the God of heaven, think
about us worshiping other
'gods' or 'idols'?
PLEASE, dear reader,
do not turn away until
you read further about
what a false god or an
idol can be. I think you
will be surprised as I
was as to what is a
have to be a statue, a
sculpture, or a picture
made by human hands.
A false god or idol can
be any 'thing' or any
person, animal, nature,
or anything that we
worship in place of
our loving, heavenly
Father God.
What? You say you do
What? You say you do
not worship this thing
or person or animal?
Well...if you respect, honor,
Well...if you respect, honor,
and adore this person or
thing, and if you spend
much more time with this
person or thing more
than you spend with
the God of heaven,
then you are worshiping
an idol or a false god!
Hey, we all seem to have
Hey, we all seem to have
them (me, too). Please keep
reading because at the
bottom of this post is
hope for dealing with
this sin.
Think about it. We can
Think about it. We can
idolize a person, obsess
over watching sports,
obsess over body
building, obsess over
the news, spend
excessive amounts of
time and money on
our looks, spend time
trying to become
popular or famous,
spend all our time working in
order to be better off
than everyone else,
obsess over our social
status among our
peers, obsess over
shopping and always
wanting to buy more
stuff, obsess over
social media, television,
texting, arts and crafts,
the newest electronics,
pets, the newest
boyfriend, etc. Think
about it.
Just one example of an idol
Just one example of an idol
in your life could be...
Think about it...What if
we had an EMP and
you could not use your
smart phone, laptop, or
electronic device,
maybe ever again??
Could that device
perhaps be an idol in
your life?
In the Old Testament of the
In the Old Testament of the
Bible, God was angry
because his people had
turned away from
worshiping him and
instead started
worshiping statues
like their pagan neighbors
worshiped which were
nothing more than
man-made likenesses
of animals, fish, birds,
people, etc. Some
even worshiped the
sun, moon,
constellations, and stars!
These people were
worshiping all the
creatures and things
that the God of heaven had
created, instead of
worshiping him, the
Creator of all of those things!
No wonder God gets angry
No wonder God gets angry
when we spend more time
with other people or with
other 'things' instead of
spending time getting to
know him through prayer
and Bible reading. He is
the heavenly Father who
loved us enough to
sacrifice His Sinless
Son, Jesus Christ, for
our sins. God wants a
personal relationship
with us. He says so in
his Holy Word, the King
James Bible!
James
4:8a Draw nigh to God,
James
4:8a Draw nigh to God,
and he will draw nigh
to you.
Revelation
3:20 [Jesus, the Son of
Revelation
3:20 [Jesus, the Son of
God and our Saviour said]
Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock: if any man hear
my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with
him, and he with me.
In the Ten Commandments
In the Ten Commandments
God in heaven told us not
to have any other gods
but Him!
Exodus
20:3 Thou shalt have no
Exodus
20:3 Thou shalt have no
other gods before me.
20:4 Thou shalt not make
20:4 Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven
image [statue], or any
likeness [sculpture] of
any thing that is in
heaven above, or that
is in the earth
beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth:
And God also tells us
And God also tells us
how angry it makes him
when people worship his
creations instead of him.
Deuteronomy
17:3 And hath gone and
Deuteronomy
17:3 And hath gone and
served other gods, and
worshipped them, either
the sun, or moon, or
any of the host of
heaven, which I [God]
have not commanded;
Deuteronomy
32:16 They provoked him
Deuteronomy
32:16 They provoked him
[God] to jealousy with
strange gods, with
abominations provoked
they him to anger.
2 Kings
19:18 And have cast their
2 Kings
19:18 And have cast their
gods into the fire: for they
were no gods, but the
work of men's hands,
wood and stone:
therefore they have
destroyed them.
19:19 Now therefore, O
19:19 Now therefore, O
LORD our God, I
beseech thee, save thou
us out of his hand, that
all the kingdoms of the
earth may know that
thou art the LORD
God, even thou only.
1 Chronicles
5:25 And they transgressed
1 Chronicles
5:25 And they transgressed
[sinned] against the God
of their fathers, and went
a whoring after the gods
of the people of the land,
whom God destroyed
before them.
1 Chronicles
16:26 For all the gods of
1 Chronicles
16:26 For all the gods of
the people are idols: but
the LORD made the
heavens.
2 Chronicles
34:25 Because they have
2 Chronicles
34:25 Because they have
forsaken me, and have
burned incense unto
other gods, that they
might provoke me to
anger with all the works
of their hands; therefore
my wrath shall be
poured out upon this
place, and shall not
be quenched.
Jeremiah
10:11 Thus shall ye say
Jeremiah
10:11 Thus shall ye say
unto them, The gods
that have not made the
heavens and the earth,
even they shall perish
from the earth, and
from under these
heavens.
So, how do we get away
So, how do we get away
from worshiping idols or
false gods? God tells us
how.
First, we (that includes me,
First, we (that includes me,
too) need to ask God to
forgive us for creating
this false god/s or idol/s
that we have set up in
our lives that takes
away our time from
spending it with Him!
1 John
1:9 If we confess [to God
1 John
1:9 If we confess [to God
in heaven] our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Then, we need to trust
God's Word that God's
Holy Spirit will help us
to overcome the
temptation to focus on
our idol/s and focus on
Him, our loving, heavenly
Father.
1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no
temptation taken you but
such as is common to
man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that
ye are able; but will with
the temptation also make
a way to escape, that ye
may be able to bear it.