Are you an idolater?

Few Christians would consider themselves idol-worshippers.  They don’t have any shrines to gods in their homes, no golden figures or pictures of strange beings to which they attach divine characteristics. The idol question is never even considered.  “Idols?” they say, “Not my problem!” 

Or are they?  What is elevated in your life?  From what or whom do ask satisfaction or security?

Worship is not just singing in church or saying prayers with the congregation. Worship is the act of giving worth.  Is the idol question coming into clearer focus as you think about that definition?  Idols can take many forms.  Do you work hard at keeping your reputation stellar so that others will respect and/or love you?  Are you endlessly anxious about your children?  Do you spend more time on keeping your body fit than seeking godliness?  Do you obsess over your landscaped yard?  Does the thought of having money consume your waking thoughts? 

In addition to being a major offense to the Lord who deserves our whole-heartedly worship, idolatry has a personal consequence. The runaway prophet, Jonah, worshipped his own security and safety more than his God. His idols brought about his destruction. In belly of a great fish, which a merciful God provided to preserve his life, he came to realize the cost of misplaced worship. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:7-9, NIV)  When we elevate something above the one true God, we, not He, cut off the flow of His mercies that would make us whole.

He has prepared gifts of peace, real and deep serenity, for us.  There is security that extends beyond the grave available that we can own in a world others know as chaotic and unpredictable.  Christians often wonder why He withholds those things from them.  In fact, He holds them out for them, but they cannot take them because an idol stands in the way! They are trying to get the ‘abundant life’ Jesus promises from something or someone they have made their god. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

Tearing down our idols is much more difficult than it might seem at first.  We get very attached to our gods, though we would not generally call them that.  We learn to rationalize, excuse, and justify our choices.  Throughout the Old Testament, the people of the living God, constantly ran after the idols of the nations that surrounded them.  Times of spiritual renewal came, the idols were destroyed, and the pure worship of God restored.  But, within a generation the false gods were brought back.  When those shrines were built, they turned away from the very God that would save them.

Take this word, dear Christian, to heart today.  May Isaiah’s warning cause us to trust the Living God completely, to worship Him with our whole heart.
"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift!" (Isaiah 30:15-16, NIV)

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My Burdens Rolled Away

I remember when my burdens rolled away.

I had carried them for years, night and day.

When I sought the blessed Lord,

And I took Him at His word,

Then, at once, all my burdens rolled away.

I remember when my burdens rolled away,

That I feared would never leave, night or day.

Jesus showed to me the loss,

So I left them at the cross,

I was glad when my burdens rolled away.

Rolled away! Rolled away!

I am happy since my burdens rolled away.

Rolled away! Rolled away!

I am happy since my burdens rolled away.

Minnie A. Steele

Public Domain

Wash Up!

Wash up!

“Hey, guys, it’s time for dinner. Wash up!”  With that call, dinner is served. Before pulling up to the table, the grime of the day needs to be washed away.  Who wants dirty hands serving and handling the dishes?  The Psalm carries a similar theme.  "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies." (Psalm 24:1-4, NLT)

God invites us to live in His Presence, to enjoy a place of security only found in Him. But, He says, “Wash up!”  Make no mistake. The call is not to self-righteousness or even to superficial goodness. The privilege of walking in the Spirit, which provides us with all that we need for the ‘abundant life’ of which Jesus spoke, is for those who are ready to leave their sin.  Let’s underscore what we ought to know already:  only Christ can make us clean from the inside out!  However, as John teaches, we must cooperate with the Spirit, forsaking our Self, to find the promised peace.  "So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin." (1 John 1:6-7, NLT)  The person who turns his heart and mind to the pursuit of holiness "will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." (Psalm 24:5-7, NIV)  

Brother Lawrence, a 17^th century French monk, entered the monastery, without the education required for ordination. He spent his life working in the kitchen and fixing sandals. But, in time, he became the spiritual hub of that place, a man recognized as being full of the Spirit of God.  He left us a little book that is a classic: The Practice of the Presence of God.  In it, he describes his delight in knowing God, not just in formal worship, but everywhere, all the time.  He writes, “A little lifting up of the heart suffices; a little remembrance of God, an interior act of adoration, even though made on the march and with sword in hand, are prayers which, short though they may be, are nevertheless very pleasing to God, and far from making a soldier lose his courage on the most dangerous occasions, bolster it. Let him then think of God as much as possible so that he will gradually become accustomed to this little but holy exercise; no one will notice it and nothing is easier than to repeat often during the day these little acts of interior adoration.”   Repeatedly, Lawrence reminds his readers that the heart must be turned to the Lord.  There will be resistance and distractions.  In the adoration, sin loses its hold and the beauty of God’s Presence takes residence!

Is living in the Presence of God your desire, Christian? “That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’s Presence, by continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit His conversation, to think of trifles and fooleries.” – Brother Lawrence    Let’s not approach Him covered in the grime of sinfulness. Instead, let’s ready ourselves for the entry of the King by keeping ourselves aware that He is near, that His love is without end, that He has prepared a banquet for us even as we walk among our enemies!

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Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul are you weary and troubled,

No light in the darkness you see?

There's light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Look full in His wonderful face!

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

Helen H. Lemmel

Public Domain

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Stupid

Tuesday was not a banner day in Jerry’s life!  Something ‘round 10, snapped in me. Church ministry budgets that don’t balance, human needs for which I have no quick fix, a crazy mixed up world that seems to be getting more upside down recently – these things pressed in on me.  My first response should have been to retire to some quiet place to pray. Instead, I  got angry. “Why doesn’t he do this? What’s the matter with her? Can’t she just do her job?”  After a few minutes of anger, I settled down to whining about why life has to be so tough. (I agree, that’s one ugly picture!)   Later, while I drove alone in my car, praying (better late than never, right?) the Spirit drew me  back to the Truth, a reassuring center point for life. What is that?
“I am a beloved son of the Heavenly Father and with Him on my side, I can fulfill His calling.”

Do you know the K.I.S.S. principle? I'm not sure where it originated. 
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Our Christian life gets awfully confused if we turn it into long debates about doctrines, slogs through philosophical ideas, or doing enough religious things. Am I belittling doctrine or wrestling with ideas to find the truth? Not at all.  Am I saying that serving God faithfully in our ministry for His kingdom is unnecessary? No, again!
However, the heart of the Christ life is relationship - with God and with others.  When I stand before Jesus to receive His evaluation of my life, He isn’t going to ask me how many years I balanced the church’s budget or how polished my sermons were.  His questions will be simple:  “Did you love me with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength?  Did you love others?”   He’s already told us what will be on that test!  He said that the whole Law of God is summed up this way: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’" (Matthew 22:36-39, The Message)
The writer of the book of Hebrews makes an extended argument for the superiority of the Gospel over the Law of Moses.  After all those carefully reasoned arguments, the Holy Spirit inspired that writer to circle around to the K.I.S.S. principle at the close: (13.1) "Keep on loving each other!"  If theology conforms to orthodoxy, but we fail to love- it is all a waste! 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us, "Without love, your preaching is as edifying as a gong or noisy cymbal. The ability to speak lofty theology, the insight to grasp spiritual mysteries, even a mountain-moving faith -- is worthless!"
Those unbalanced budgets are still there. That marriage crisis is still pending. But, I am re-centered today and I have sincerely repented for my ungodliness of yesterday.  I know that “I love God and He loves me!”  In that centering Truth there is a Solid Rock on which I stand.  I can, and I will, deal with my life, ministry, and the tests that will keep coming my way until I am received into His Presence for Eternity.  If you know that, you, too, can deal with the rest of the stuff! So, keep it simple today, OK?
Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones (and big people, too) to Him belong,
when they are weak,
He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible (and the Spirit in my heart) tells me so!
- public domain

Double that fine!

America has regulations to regulate the regulators!  The founders of our country would be astonished, probably brokenhearted, to see the heavy web of laws that we wrap around every part of our lives.  Most Americans do not realize that this ‘free’ nation has a higher percentage of people in the ‘justice’ system than any other developed nation on earth today.  Though Americans account for only about 5% of the world’s population just over 25% of those in prison are in American jails, many for non-violent offenses.  Many factors come together that cause us to build this crushingly expensive corrections system; among them, fear, ignorance, increasing urbanization, and loss of spiritual values that help individuals to govern their own behaviors.

My concern is that same mind creeps into our faith.  Think about it. Has Church become something of a prison?  Is it a place where we invite others to write rules for us to govern our behaviors because we cannot trust ourselves? Are we attempting to create holiness by focusing on controlling what others do, what they say, how they act; or by raising the threat of punishment?  Or is the Church a liberating place where people are invited to become the persons God desires them to be?  Does the love and acceptance demonstrated by Jesus again and again shape our community and invite others who live openly, joyfully, and without condemnation? 

How foolish we are to trade the freedom of Christ for rules. We cannot possibly write enough to make us good and loving people.  Only an inner transformation, possible by the Spirit of God, really makes us good. The Bible says, "You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch.” Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth." (Colossians 2:20-3:2, NLT)

Go back and read that passage again, slowly, prayerfully.

Now ask yourself, is my Christianity based on fear or love?  Only you can answer that question. One way to know is to observe what you do, how you act, when you’re alone or anonymous.  A person who loves Christ and who is filled with the Spirit develops character and that character has no need of restraint or punishment. A mature Christian does not just ‘act like a Christian.’  He lives with integrity, his daily choices flowing out of who he has become in his mind and heart. He would pray, love, worship, serve, and seek God just as fervently if alone on a deserted island as he does in church when surrounded by people professing to belong to God.

Most Christians say that they love passages like Romans 8. (Read it lately?)  The heart of our Christian faith pulses through the revealed Truth inspired there. What does the Lord promise there?  No condemnation. Freedom. Peace. Life. True holiness that lets God’s beauty radiate from our lives.  Are those ideas you connect with your Christianity?  Has knowing Christ made you a person of greater depth, beauty, and responsibility for others?  Or, has religion just added another layer of rules to your life, deepening your sense of guilt and shame?

Ponder this passage.  For most of my readers it will be familiar territory, but I urge you to read it again, as if for the first time. 

"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." (Romans 8:1-14, NIV)

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Make me more like You, Jesus;

Make me more like You.

Give me a heart that’s filled with love,

And make me more like You! –

            copied

Yes, I am!

A painter does not exist to stir colors.  He mixes paint to create beauty. We can get so close to our lives, so wrapped up in work, projects, people, and plans that we lose sight of real LIFE.  (Well, I do, anyway. Do you?) We can mistake the ‘doing’ for the ‘being.’  There is a reason I exist that includes oil changes and lawn mowing, but that is not the ‘all’ of it.  My true identity is found in that fact that I am a child of the living God, a citizen of His eternal kingdom, called to make the world beautiful, and privileged to make the invisible God a real Presence in the envelope of time and space.  When people do not have that vision or when a Christian loses it, life devolves into a struggle for money, sex, or power. Without the divine, we become like the creatures of the forest, fighting to survive. Period.

Paul’s letter to the Romans, that amazing treatise on God’s grace, says "Now this wonderful truth … assures us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory." (Romans 4:23-5:2, NLT)

Righteous! God offers us full acceptance.  We need not live shamed, in guilt, or feeling alienated from Him. The Cross connects us to our Abba and settles, once and for all time, the question of His love for us.

Peace with God!  There is no need to avoid Him, to pray tentative prayers from a distance.  We are (not because of perfect performance) living in harmony with Him, filled with His Spirit, one with His purpose.

Highest privilege, where we stand!  We are not subject to the accusations of the evil one, nor need we be pulled down by the nagging voice of our old sinful nature. God has pulled us to our feet and give us a Solid Rock on which to stand.

Confident, joyful, anticipation!  Yes, yes, yes… there is hope for the future.  Our bodies will die, but a grave is not our destiny. We are already alive in Christ, so death is just the transition point from living within the confines of time and space to an existence beyond them.

By faith, live the Truth He states about you.  Sometimes we read those passages and nod but we leave them on the page, so to speak. Pull it out and place it in your mind, at the forefront of your conscious thoughts today.  It will make a difference.

Here’s the word from the Word. "So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life." (Colossians 3:1-3, The Message)

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Jesus, You Are My Life

You are my life,

O precious Christ.

You are to me

The pearl of greatest price,

My love for You will never die.

Jesus, You are my life.

O holy fire,

Love's purest light.

Burn all desires ‘til

You are my one delight.

My love for You will never die

Jesus You are my life

O conquering King;

Conquer my heart!

And make of me a pleasing gift to God,

My love for You will never die

Jesus You are my life

I come to You.

I run to You.

There's no greater joy,

Than knowing You.

Steve Fry

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