Exodus 20:4-5 (NKJV) 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
This what God's word says to us about idols. Pretty clear, unless your human. Then we start to interpret this commandant to mean all sorts of things.
I've heard many a sermon on the idols that we worship. From statues and lifestyles to our jobs. Many consider an idol to be anything which takes the place of OR gets between us and God. But look again at the scripture above. God says, " a carved image, or any likeness of anything,". It sounds like a solid, touchable mass of something, not a feeling, habit or hobby.
A few weeks ago I had a dream. A normal, can't quite understand it, don't really grasp the meaning of it dream. So I wrote down what I remember of it. I remember that the dream was speaking to me about how I spend my time. It pointed out that things like drugs, drinking, Oreo cookies and even golf can become something of an idol in our lives and push God to the sidelines. The dream stressed that I need to be aware of how a addiction or hobby can consume my time and take me away from God.
So I meditated on this thought until I began to really complicate the issue. That's what we do as humans. We can't help ourselves. We weigh ourselves down with guilt, rules and regulations until we cannot understand what was really stated. Looking back on the dream I realized that satan was at work again. Drugs, heavy drinking, gluttony were a part of the old me and satan was trying to temp me into going back to them. I still struggle each day to fight these demons, but I know that God gives me the strength to resist them. It is His Holy Spirit, a down payment if you will, of our eternal powers that can help me fight off these urges.
You can look back at your old self as a measurement of where God is taking you. But don't grieve for that old life. It must be crucified on the cross. Let it die there. Resist the urge to take it down and breathe new life into it. Instead, look forward to where God is taking you.
In summary, I guess I should reread my last post on what to do when tempted with sin...
God Bless, spread the joy you now have, keep it simple....
Pete
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