I'm going through the Bible study by Kelly Minter called No Other Gods. I feel like what I am learning I need to share with you.
As you know, idols look very different today than they did in the first century. There are less and less golden calves and bronze lady statues and more and more celebrities, artists, books, ideas and products that have become our modern day idols.
Truth be told, an idol is simply something in our heart that takes the place of God.
Do you know what your idol is? Is there anything other than God that you have set your heart on?
What gets your heart pumping and excited? What consumes most of your thoughts? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
Something the Lord has shown me is that it doesn't even have to be a bad thing. It can be your love for another person, or even your desire to live out the dreams God has for you. But if you put more of your focus on THAT than God, then it has become an idol for you.
Kelly Minter posts this question, "Can you think of anything in your life that is inherently good and right, but that has become detrimental simply because you desire it too much?"
Something that can happen when we want something badly, maybe we pray for it everyday, is that when we don't get it we start to question God's goodness. This is where the enemy loves to get us. If he knows we've been praying for something, then he is ready and waiting for us to feel discouraged. As soon as we feel discouraged he whispers that lie, "See, God isn't answering your prayer. He doesn't care about you. If he did, He would've helped you. Don't bother praying anymore." Etc etc. Have you experienced that?
If we desire God more than the thing we are praying for, then we will recognize Satan's lie for exactly what it is and we can dismiss it in the name of Jesus immediately. I wish someone had told me this years ago. It took me 10 years to learn it, and I almost lost my marriage because I was believing the lie that God didn't care enough to "fix" my situation. Turns out all I needed to do was fix my eyes on Him, not my desires!
Another point she makes is that sometimes we may worship God, but we serve other gods. We allow other things to be our "functioning god." Example: We pray for God's safety, but if we put our hope in the strength of our military or our country to keep us safe, then that has become our functioning god, instead of the One True God in whom we should place our trust. Does that make sense?
A functioning god is like the place we put our hopes. We might be worshipping God, but we are putting our trust in something else.
Looking at your life, can you define your functioning gods? Maybe it's your spouse, your job, your money?
Bottom line, God needs to be your only God. He needs to be the one that gets our praise, worship and TRUST.
Is there anything in your life that you desire more than God? Is there something you put your hope in instead of Him?
Pray with me now: "Lord we come to you today as broken people. We try to love and serve You but sometimes we fall short, in fact most of the time we fall short. Thank you for Your unconditional love for us. Thank you that no matter how many times we mess up, You are always there, waiting with open arms. Please help our idols to fall away. Help us to turn from them and turn our eyes onto You. God draw us to You everyday so that we desire to be in Your word and to abide in You. Give us strength when we need to say "No" to any temptations (idols) that are harmful to us. Thank you Lord for Your amazing grace and forgiveness. Go before us and prepare the way, thank you Lord, In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen!"
In the book of Revelation, Jesus writes (well actually He speaks and John writes) seven letters to seven churches of the first century. They all have one profound sentence in common: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
I want you to read that out loud and let that sink in.
The Spirit had words for the churches. I like to think of it in terms of when I have words for my 5 year old, if you catch my tone.
Read Revelation chapters 2 & 3 and then meet me back here.
Ok so it sounds like a lot these churches had issues, just like today. And none of them were perfect, just like today. So we as the Church today should look at these letters and ask ourselves, which one are we?
Or a better question, which one am I? Those letters were not isolated to that time. They are meant for us too.
I broke each one down to make it easier to see what was going on:
1. Ephesus- Legalistic
2. Smyrna- Persecuted yet faithful
3. Pergamum- Worldly/serving other idols
4. Thyatira- Allowing a false teacher/corrupt leader
5. Sardis- Fake
6. Philadelphia- Persecuted yet faithful
7. Laodicea- Lukewarm
Sound like any churches nowadays? Only 2 out of 7 were actually keeping His Word and remaining faithful, even under great persecution.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
We are the churches.
Pray with me, "Lord, please help us to be the church that you have called us to be. God if you see any offense in me, if I am lukewarm, fake, or too worldly, then please forgive me Lord. I want to turn from evil and only do what is good and pure in Your sight. Ignite a fire in me to love and serve You more than ever before. Help the church I attend to join me in pursuing You first God. Help us to love each other with a pure, authentic love that can only come from You, so that the world will know we are your followers. Thank you Lord for your gift of salvation, please use me to bring others to You in Jesus' name I pray, Amen!"
Have you ever gone "Church shopping?" You know, try different churches until you find the one that meets your list of requirements? Great children's ministry, awesome worship experience, engaging sermons, etc.
Most of us do this, but I think it's time for a paradigm shift.
As followers of Christ, our great commission is to go and tell the world about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20) So how does that fit in with "church shopping"?
I have an idea for you. The next time you are looking for a new church, pray with your spouse beforehand. Ask God to make you both sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. If you don't like something or it doesn't fit your needs, ask God to show you if He wants you there anyway.
We cannot guess God's plan for us, and we cannot know what adventures await us when we submit to His will. There might be a whole new group of friends waiting to embrace you that you never would've met had you listened to your own desires.
Another thing we need to realize is that when you are walking closely with the Lord, church is not about meeting YOUR needs, it's about YOU meeting the needs of the church, according to His purpose. God has gifted each of us with unique talents and abilities. The body of Christ cannot function without you! We are all called to serve.
1 Corinthians 12:14 says, "Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
It takes all of us, with our different talents and callings to be a functioning and glorifying body of Christ.
Let's BE the church, instead of just going to church.
Before you say, "Oh we can't go to this church, I don't like the childcare", how about saying, "God, are you calling me to serve the children at this church in Your name?"
BE the change you want to see.
God knows how to turn your greatest weakness into your greatest strength.
What is your greatest weakness? Think about it and answer honestly. Is it Fear? Anxiety? Pride? Or maybe it's an addiction or the endless cycle of poor choices? Whatever it is, God knows how to redirect it into a strength.
My greatest weakness for many years was selfishness. I focused so much on my own wants and desires that it began to consume me. I was so self-involved that I began to see myself as a victim of life. I was the "everything bad always happens to me" kinda girl. I expected things to go wrong, I expected to be miserable because I was so focused on my own feelings of unhappiness. ME ME ME.
I almost lost my marriage because of my selfishness and life as I know it now may have never existed. Who knows where I would be, what my kids would be like right now, and what kind of situations I would've found myself in. Honestly I don't even know if I would be alive. My greatest weakness could've taken me out.
But God came to my rescue.
As my marriage was about to crumble and I was about to dive head first into trying to fulfill my own selfish desires, God grabbed hold of my heart.
Through my husband's unconditional love and desire to not give up on me, I found my way back to Christ. I was finally ready to surrender all of my selfishness to Him. I was ready to take Step One with God and let Him lead the way.
My journey back to the Lord started with another gift from my husband. He gave me the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. As I read it's daily messages my perspective began to change. I started thanking God for the good things instead of complaining to Him about the bad. The more I read that book and the few short Bible verses it quoted each day, the more I craved God's Word! So I began reading my Bible. I began talking to God more and more, thanking Him for anything and everything.
The more thankful I was, the more peace I felt, and the more peace I felt, the more joy I experienced welling up inside me. True joy finally took the place of the unhappiness that I had felt for 10+ years.
I was free.
I believe God turned my greatest weakness of selfishness into my greatest strength, because through my story I can help others. My greatest desire now is to HELP people. I just want to help people experience the same life change that I did! I want the world to know the peace and joy that Jesus can give them.
I want to help other women who would consider themselves a "desperate housewife" to not make the same mistakes I did.
It is possible to fall in love with your husband again, it is possible to experience unconditional love, it is possible to have peace that surpasses all understanding. And it all comes from a relationship with Jesus.
God took a selfish girl and turned her into someone who desires to love and serve others. My desire is no longer to please my wants, but to please God.
I heard a pastor say recently, "Your greatest weakness is your strength misdirected."
Won't you let Christ redirect your strength today? Let Him turn your weakness into something amazing that only He can do. Take that first step with God today. I did it 3 years ago and I am living proof of His love and grace. God bless you friends.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
