Idolatry

"We may as well face it; the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone.. We have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost." - A.W. Towzer

Idols are the things that we worship and love more than God. Sometimes everyday things can become idols because they start to consume our hearts, desires and become our main source of enjoyment. Idols are the things that we worship below ourselves. Therefore we are becoming more like our idols and lowering ourselves to our idols. But when one worships God, who is above all else, he/she will begin to increase in looking like Christ. Worship idols > decrease self Worship God > increase self

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him." Deut 13:1-4

Question. What or Who are you worshiping?? Money? Sex? Food? Work? School? Appearances? Boys? Girls? Comforts? Yourself? IF we worship anything besides the one true God, it becomes an idol! We are serving so many false gods and material things! Who should our eyes be set upon? Where is our heart at!? To whom shall we place our devotion? Do not yield to the people who worship idols, and do not yield to the numerous false prophets that teach false claims about God. The Lord is testing us to see if we will obey His commands in faith and love Him with our entire lives. Who will you worship? Jesus simply says, "Come and follow me."

Who will win the battle of our hearts? Will we settle for our own selfish desires, or will we praise God with our lives? When you give ur entire heart to Christ, your life will dramatically increase in His likeness, and your heart will begin to be directed to worship the One who is perfect, holy and worthy of all praise. Speaking first hand, there is no greater peace, love and joy.

Lately, I've been having a lot of idols. My heart has been so easily distracted that ive been struggling just to do daily devotions, which is sad. I honestly haven't been spending my time wisely and have again neglected setting aside quality time to just wait upon God. Sometimes the best thing we can do all day is to just sit in stillness and actually meet with the almighty God who is above all creation. This seems to be a reoccurring lesson lately.

Lately, God has reminded me of my work and role in the harvest of His people. I need to first of all draw closer to Him and pursue righteousness, and then i also need to invest, teach, and love on others. True greatness is one who will lay down his life for others, as Christ perfectly demonstrated. I desire to follow in His foot steps and become a servant to many. If i am truly called to become a leader, that means i am also called to be a humble servant and to diligently pursue a life of righteousness by walking by the Holy Spirit. Have i done these things perfectly lately? Far from it. But as of today I am ready to move forward and surrender in humble submission to God's plans. I pray that my will would become His will, and that my desires would becomes His desires.

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Deuteronomy 4:23-40 The Lord is God

Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

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Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think if you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Suffering

Lately ive been learning how God purposely removes Himself from our senses. David who wrote the psalms constantly cries out to God, asking why He would hide His face. We know God is always there for us, but how come sometimes it may seem He has abandoned us or been absent for a meeting? Why does He allow for us to undergo such hardship and suffering? We find ourselves constantly battling our sin, constantly feeling far from God, and distracted from following Him.

I believe this is the next step in sanctification. He tests our faith, to see where we'll turn when these trials arise. He doesn't immediately intervene with His comfort because He watches how we deal with our suffering. His discipline may sometimes involve Him separating and hiding from us. This allows us to chase after Him. This actually sharpens and refines our faith. Will we trust in God's sovereignty, faithfulness, holiness and perfect love even when we're completely surrounded in darkness?

This is a similar story to the life of Job. Everything came crashing down on him all at once. Perhaps God took away Job's worldly blessings as a consequence for trying to make sin sacrifices for his children. Perhaps God wanted to see if Job could endure Satan's temptation. Perhaps God removed His face from Job to see if he would turn from God's promises.

The apostle Paul is also known for persevering through much suffering

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches" 2 Cor 11:24-28

Paul also mentioned how he had a painful thorn on the side of his body, and 3 times Paul cried out to God to remove it, but God answered back "My grace is sufficient." This gives light to us that it doesn't matter how much we have to suffer in this life, it doesn't matter if we lose everything in this life, it doesn't matter if we become sick, get persecuted or thrown in jail. Even while Paul was facing death each day, he was found worshipping God and singing songs of praise. Although he lived an uncomfortable life, he became rich in spirit, rich in knowledge and rich in grace.

Yesterday as i was swimming, God reminded me of His love again. I have been found wandering off from His love. I have been found seeking after other things, and putting other things in front of God. I increased my own will and put God on the back burner. Everyday i back stab God, everyday i betray the One i love. And yet everyday my God is full of love, grace and forgiveness. I learned once again that nothing else matters when we embrace God's love. I lack nothing, for i know my God loves me unconditionally. My God has reminded me of my purpose to live to glorify Him and to share the good news of His wonderful love.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn^a]"> of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3

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In this day and age, men are still focused on serving themselves. Men are still only concerned with accumulating more wealth and gaining more worldly pleasures, when one day these things will pass away and they will have to forfeit their very souls. God has already sent enough messengers. God has already made His warnings very clear. A day is approaching where God will judge each man for the work of his faith. He will separate the righteous from the wicked. He will gather the wheat into His barn and throw bundles of weeds into the fire. He will separate the Sheep from goats. Families will be separated. And not everyone who will cry out "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven.

What did we do with what God entrusted us with? Will we be like the servants who multiplied what God gave them? Or will we dig a hole and hide our faith? Will we live out our faith bold and unashamed? Will we be like the 5 bridesmaids that we're prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom, or will we be like the 5 bridesmaids that we're unprepared and missed the bridegroom and we're left with the doors closed shut? Will we be like the people who trusted the ark of Noah and we're saved from the flood? Or will we be foolish and reject the saving hand of God?

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matt 7:13-14

"If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." 1 Cor 3:12-15