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Tag Archives: Idols

Roman 10:5-13

09 Mar

5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say?

“The word is near you,
    in your mouth and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:5-13

Dear God, I never get excited about reading Romans. I probably should. I guess it just seems so academic to me. It feels like he’s teaching a class, and I cannot just take bits and pieces here and there like I prefer to do. For example, today, Sister Miriam just has verse 11 as her verse of meditation from Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, but it’s really out of context without the verse around it. But then they are out of context without chapter 9. And when you go back to chapter 9, you realize it is a continuation from chapter 8. It’s just very verbose and almost cryptic. I’d rather someone like Paul, Peter, or John just beat me over the head with what they are saying instead of taking so many words to build the foundation and justification for their argument. Don’t get me wrong. I understand why they did it that way, and I think that way is right. It can just be hard for me to digest given how I tend to read scripture (which is probably wrong since these were mainly written as letters to groups of people or individuals).

So what is Sister Miriam trying to get me to focus on by just pulling out Romans 10:11?

On this first Sunday of Lent, we are led by the Spirit into the desert with Jesus…In the desert, things become very clear. We see our idols–the things we grasp at for salvation other than God. We see where we hide behind our fig leaves of self-righteousness and shame. We see where our sin has wreaked havoc in our lives and in the lives of others.

I had an email exchange with a friend whom I respect as a Godly man. He loves you. He is also very upset right now and some developments in the world. While we lament the same things, I feel like I am reminded time and again the last few years that there is a difference between despair and lament. As long as you are my God, I will not despair (except when I lose faith and I do, indeed, despair), but I will lament things that make me sad and concerned. And you use that lament to comfort me, motivate me, and draw me closer to yourself. If someone came along tomorrow and fixed everything that I am currently lamenting, I might be tempted to worship that person and turn my eyes from you. I might want to make them my idol. I like how Sister Miriam says, “In the desert, things become very clear. We see our idols.” Why does it often take a desert to reveal our idols? Maybe because we look to our idols to comfort us in the desert, and when they fail us (and they will always fail us eventually) we see them for what they are. Or at least you are trying to reveal them for what they are. We just have to be willing to let go of them and allow the Holy Spirit to help us see them as you see them.

Father, I know I still have idols I’m not aware of. My bank account and how much is in it is an idol. I’m sure it is. I know how I feel if I have different amounts in it. A lot makes me happier. Just a little makes me fearful. So it’s certainly in there somewhere. And I know there are other idols. I know I can look to see who is or isn’t in any given political office and make it an idol to get my person in that position one way or another. But that is fool-hearted. One I’ve talked to you about in the past is my interest or need for the U.S. military to be the strongest in the world so I will feel safe. But am I really safe? Do I need to be safe? My nice little neighborhood in my small town can be a place where I find refuge instead of finding my refuge in you. The examples are everywhere. I confess them to you this morning, in this desert place. Be glorified. You are my God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, Romans

 

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Hebrews 11:8-19

01 Feb

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

Hebrews 11:8-19

Dear God, I’m probably going to say something heretical here, but I don’t agree with all of the conclusions the author of Hebrews draws in this passage. First, my favorite part is the first part of verse 13: “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.” And I suppose there’s no point in going into the parts I disagree with…well, maybe just a little. I simply disagree with verse 19, that “Abraham reasoned if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.” When I read that story and spend time with it, and when I put myself in Abraham’s place, and when I ask myself why you gave him that particular test in the first place, I think that Abraham had likely made an idol out of the promise, and you were using this as an opportunity to him to not only sacrifice Isaac, but sacrifice the promise. I imagine that there was a lot of repenting going on during the journey to the mountain where Isaac was to be sacrificed. I think Abraham was probably a pretty broken and repentant man by the time they reached the place and he drew the knife to kill his son and his promise.

Okay, now that I have that off of my chest, let me go back to my favorite part. They didn’t live to see the promise on this side of death. Your reality is not our reality. Our reality is not nearly as important as we think it is. My life is not nearly as important as I think it is. I’m sorry, that’s not exactly what I meant. My comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are not nearly as important as I think they are. In fact, while my life is important for your service, my comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are immaterial. My standing in the community. The pride I take in my children. The pride I take in my marriage. My job. All of it is worthless and eligible for the sacrificial altar. When I start to make any of it my idol I am limiting what you can do through me because I am limiting myself.

Father, give me more faith than I have. I have a friend right now who thinks we can impact immigration policy in this country from the bottom up. I have no faith for that. Should I? There are so many things in my personal life that seem hopeless. Are they? Or is it that I just need to remain faithful and wait on your timing, whether it happens during my short life or after, for your plan to be fulfilled. Most of the time, I do have faith that you are doing what needs to be done but I just can’t see it–and I might never see it. Ninety-five percent of the time, I believe it. But those 5% moments break my heart and bring me to tears. I feel sorry for myself. I hurt because I’m not getting exactly what I want. So help me to live with the faith that Abraham had that he had this promise, but he really only lived to see a small, small part of it fulfilled. I might not even get to see as much as he saw, but I know that I am grateful to be able to sit here with you now, love you, worship you, and trust in you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 1, 2025 in Hebrews

 

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Isaiah 46:5-7

10 Sep

5 “To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?
6 Some people pour out their silver and gold
    and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
    Then they bow down and worship it!
7 They carry it around on their shoulders,
    and when they set it down, it stays there.
    It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
    It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Isaiah 46:5-7

Dear God, I love this word picture of comparing you with the idols we make for ourselves. That I make for myself.

There is a presidential debate tonight. A lot of people have made these two candidates their idols. At a minimum, they have made the defeat of one of the candidates their idol (If XX wins then everything will be terrible. XX CANNOT win!). Thinking of the gold and silver mentioned in this Isaiah passage, how many people give more money to their favored politician than you? The hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions are coming from somewhere. How many people put the bumper stickers on their cars, the flags on their houses or in their places of business (see the guy who cuts my hair who has a huge flag on the wall inside his establishment), or the signs in their yards. Do they display you as much in their lives. Do they spend as much time, or any time with you? No, we can sit and mock the Israelites for their idols, but we do the same thing. We’ve decided that the political power equals security and success. If my side wins then I will be safe and secure. Then I will be happy.

Father, I am sorry for how I allow this attitude, this idolatry, to infiltrate my own heart. Maybe it is politics. Maybe it is my kids. Maybe it is success at work. Maybe it is my marriage. I start to think that the happy heart is found in these things instead of in you. I can be happy if my kids love me in this way. I can be happy if this or that happens at work. If my political candidate wins. If my wife does this, that, or the other. But it is all foolishness. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I already have it way better than I deserve. So I submit myself to you and worship you today. In this moment. You are my God. I reject the other gods that offer me false promises and empty rhetoric.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 10, 2024 in Isaiah

 

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1 Corinthians 10:1-15

22 Sep

10 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

9 Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true.

1 Corinthians 10:1-15

Dear God, I am teaching a Sunday school class this week and I want to pass one something that you have been teaching me over the last three years: identifying and getting rid of my idols.

In modern America, I don’t have little statues I worship. We’ve reasoned ourselves beyond that. Some people have even “reasoned” themselves beyond you. But what even those people don’t realize is that they have reasoned themselves into something that they will look to for their fruits of the Spirit. Especially for their peace.

Maybe I should start there. Maybe I should start with what it is that makes worshipping you and loving you, even in the midst of trials, so amazing. When I go to Galatians 5:22 and consider the fruits of the Spirit, I think that peace is that special thing we are looking for in our lives. Peace within ourselves. A stillness in our souls.

I think the heart of the message is in verses 7-10:

“Do not be idolaters, as some of [the Israelites who left Egypt in Exodus] were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.’ We should not commit sexual immortality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel,”

This paragraph makes me wonder why I do this. What is it that drives me to idols? What is they offer me that I should only and can only find from you? I think the answer is peace. Yes, by worshipping you the fruits of the Spirit will naturally grow in me and out of me: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Those are amazing things for anyone to exhibit and give to others, but all but two of them are outward-focused. Joy and peace are part of my internal make-up. They are the well that is in me. And when I am truly in relationship with you, your joy and a peace that passes all understanding is what grows in me.

So what if all temptation is designed by Satan to pull me into seeking joy and peace apart from you? Could this possibly be the center of any sin that tempts me? If I want to steal something or take something that isn’t mine, do I think the having of that thing will bring me some level of peace or joy? If I am tempted to kill someone, do I think the elimination of that person will bring me peace or joy? If I commit adultery or even look at pornography, is there something in my brain telling me to find joy there? The same goes for just about any other sin. Slander/gossiping. Lying. Unforgiveness. Even skipping the Sabbath.

When I was growing up in Baptist and Fellowship of Christian Athletes circles, one thing they used to tell us about was our “God hole.” I would hear people say that we all have a “God hole” in our hearts that nothing else can fill. And our temptation is to look at the world and try to find things in the world to fill that “God hole,” but nothing ever fills it. Only you do. As I sit here and think about this now, and as I’ve thought about this topic all week, I wonder if that God hole isn’t simply the joy and peace that only comes from you because you are the only thing in all of the universe that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Making you my God and rejecting these temptations fills my “God hole” (i.e., gives me peace and joy) completely and can keep it filled regardless of my life circumstances.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, as I pray this morning, it feels like you are teaching me that temptation is all about directing me to one idol or another and leading me away from you and looking for alternative things to put in my “God hole.” It’s amazing how effective the temptation is. I wonder why that is. But let me just start my repenting for my idolatrous heart. I am sorry I look to anything else at any time of day or day of the week that will give me something only you can give. I am sorry I try to make myself and my pleasure my god. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your presence.

I pray all of this in the name of the one true God, my Father, my Jesus, and my Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 22, 2023 in 1 Corinthians

 

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Isaiah 46:1-5

10 Sep

Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight. Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. “Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?

Isaiah 46:1-5

Dear God, is it a problem if I can’t even tell what my idols are anymore? I think it probably is. Sometimes, I think I’ve created so many idols for myself that as soon as I get rid of one there is another ready to take its place.

Money. Sure money is an idol that I wrestle with from time to time, but it’s not a huge issue for me. The best way to deal with the money being an idol issue is to give some away. In fact, my wife and I have found through the years that the best thing for us to do in times of feeling insecure about money is to find a place or person to give some of it to.

Maybe that’s the pattern. My work. My children. My home. My safety. My car. My theology. My church. My intellect. My entertainment. My time. My health. These are all things that compete for my worship. How do I give those away?

I’m reminded of the hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” The chorus still sits in my head:

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

Father, help me to turn my eyes upon Jesus today. Help me to look fully in His wonderful face. I need Him. I need the Holy Spirit. I need you. Fill me and help me to charge into this day under your blessing and power.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 10, 2020 in Isaiah

 

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North Point Church Interview with Stuart and Kellee Hall

14 Jul

Quotes from “Surviving COVID: An Interview with Stuart and Kellee Hall” from North Point Community Church

40:52
Stuart Hall: I read this week, and I think this parallels with what you’re saying–the writer posed this question: “Have you placed your trust in your theology or the God of your theology?” And that’s really easy for us to get confused. And the way that Kellee and our children have inspired me is exactly what you’re saying. The writer of Hebrews says that we can approach the throne of God with confidence and he’ll give us grace and mercy. But those are not the outcomes we really desire. What we want to do is go, “Well, no, we want him to live and we want him to be completely healthy.” And the writer of Hebrews goes, “You can have confidence that he’s going to give you grace to go through whatever it is that you are going to go through, and he’s going to be merciful to you in that process.” And it does, it pushes against this–if we get really honest I think all of us, we tend to live…our faith ends up being a churched up version of the American dream with just enough Jesus to make it seem legitimate. And what’s happened to us is that that’s been knocked out from under us, and now you go, “Okay, are we going to…are we going to trust Jesus? Are we going to lean the full weight of our life on him? Or are we going to trust what we think about him or what we believe about him? And those are two different things.

48:15
Andy Stanley: So, Stuart, I want to wrap up with maybe the hardest question or the biggest question. One of the mysteries of our faith is the providence of God. Who’s in charge? The sovereignty of God. You know, what role do we have? And you touched on this earlier. Did God cause this to happen? Do you just respond to what happened? Just life, random. How has this event changed your view of the sovereignty of God or God’s activity in the world? I mean, how…the whole issue of certainty. Talk a little bit about that.

Stuart Hall: Well, Kellee and I had already been wrestling with that a little bit. We did have a window of time as empty nesters where she would travel with me when I would go and speak different places. The more we’ve been around the country, the more we’ve talked to people, the more I started feeling really antsy about this reality: That–and this sounds really harsh, Andy–but I feel like we’ve made an idol out of certainty. Like we…And an idol isn’t an idol because it has a particular property to it. And idol is an idol because of the value you place on it. And so much of our existence revolves around security and certainty. And I think what has happened in our life as a result of this is this unveiling of the fact that you’ve got your value on the wrong things. The only thing you can trust–you know, the write of Hebrews says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn’t say your circumstances are. He doesn’t say your marriage will be. He doesn’t say your health will be. He doesn’t say your children will be. He doesn’t say your country will be. He doesn’t say the economy will be. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So the question becomes then, why would I lean my life on anything but him? Do I think that God made this happen? It’s such an interesting tension because to believe in an all-knowing God is to believe that God knows everything. I don’t know if God made it happen. I do know he wants to make it matter. And because he wants to make it matter, I think that she and I feel this, almost like this burden, that we’ve got a join him in whatever it is he’s trying to do because of the story. Because of what it is that he has done in our life. And what we don’t want to do…it’s interesting when uncertainty happens I think we all have this propensity wherever there’s a contradiction we’ll set up an opposition to it. If something contradicts our certainty–like with COVID, for example–it’s a contradiction in our certainty so when go, “Well, it’s a conspiracy theory.” Or, “It’s a political agenda.”

54:53
Andy Stanley: If you were sitting over a coffee table with our audience–either single men and women, married men and women, seniors, high school students, college students, and you had your, you know, your elevator pitch…the final moment–what do you say?

Stuart Hall: I would probably say that I think we have the wrong job description for love. As humans we are always trying to avoid pain. As parents we are always trying to protect our children from pain. As friends we are always trying to fix each other’s pain. And no wonder we always feel like failures because life is, it’s the human drama. It’s pleasure and pain. And the question I would have you wrestle with is just simply this: What are you going to trust in when that pain happens? When your certainty is made uncertain? Are you going to lean your life on your own understanding? Your own ability to reason? Your own ability to wrap this up and put a bow on it? Or will you trust your life to the only one that doesn’t change, that doesn’t move, and can actually heal you of your pain, can heal you in your hurt? The last thing I would say is that your love for Jesus doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be true. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be true. So I implore you–if you’re not a Jesus person, you don’t follow him–would you consider what you’re leaning your life up against? And if you are a Jesus person, you are…you do follow in the way of Jesus, how much are you trusting him? Are you trusting what you know about him, or are you really trusting him? That’s my prayer for people, that they will lean their life, the full weight of their existence on him.

Dear God, I should probably spend the next few days and separate out these three different sets of quotes from Stuart Hall.

I was riding my bike the other day and listening to this interview/podcast/sermon from North Point Community Church, and I’m so grateful for it. When I came across these three specific quotes, I looked at the phone and noted the time stamp so I could go back and find them. I loved them.

I guess, from a macro level, it was just so nice to hear from a couple that has been through trials, but their faith was solid throughout because their faith was in the right thing. They had the right perspective on you.

I haven’t always had that kind of faith. Sure, sometimes I have. Probably the high point of my faith was 25 years ago next month when my wife miscarried our first child, Sandra. I was 25 years old and kneeling beside her hospital bed and my prayer to you was that you knew my heat and you knew what I wanted, but I trusted you and I had faith in you. You were my God, and I put it all in your hands. Yeah, I look back on that and am grateful for the perspective that 25-year-old had.

But I haven’t always been that way since then. There were times when I was unemployed that I got really angry with you. There were times when things weren’t going the way I wanted them to with raising my children, and I was really disappointed in you. I could go on and on.

No, my life isn’t only failures. You have taught me through those times of lost faith. You used them to strengthen me. You used them to grow my faith. You made them count.

So now, father, before I spend the next couple of days thinking about these quotes individually, I want to say that I am grateful for the struggles. I am grateful for the humblings (is that a word?) you have given to me. There’s an old Amy Grant song called, “In a Little While.” Part of the chorus says, “We’re just here to learn to love Him.” I wish I didn’t need so much instruction, but I submit myself to the lessons you have for me. My utmost for your highest, oh, Lord!

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2020 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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What are my idols?

08 Jul

I think there is real good work–heart work–to do in all this. And, you know, I’ve said this enough in other places that I’ll mention here in this context that part of the work–the heart work–that God has had me doing as my own wife is very sick with brain cancer, that I’m 46 years old, she 46 years old, we’ve got three health and vibrant kids, she’s a marathon runner and a swimmer and it’s been very hard to see her decline. A lot of her disorientation around what’s happening, and it’s like there’s a lot of sad things to say about that. But even as she’s been very sick we’ve had a lot of things to be very joyful about. And the reason I mention that in this context is when we go through things that are periods of suffering, and I certainly have gone through that with my family over the last three years since she was first diagnosed with that, it was June of 2017, our idols began to take shape. You can see them more clearly. We have an idol of health and healthiness. And we have an idol of, you know, sort of relational vibrancy, of being a pair. You know, I’ve seen older–she’s a terminal patient, and so I sometimes will see an older couple who, they’re like talking about their grandkids and I flashforward to the life that I imagined I would live with my wife, and that’s a natural and normal thing for me as a married man to do. But also it’s its own kind of idol because the Lord wants us to, every day, to depend on him for our deepest identity, our, sort of, you know, we’re not promised anything. Our lives, as scripture says, are just a vapor. And so how is it that we as a Christian community today could use the things that God has given us, our stories, even our suffering, and then allow God to use that to tear down and move us past some of the deep idols that we have so that we can become–so that we can live the story that Jesus tells us in scripture. The full and abundant life. And that’s what actually just drives me in my work and my caring for my wife.

David Kinnaman on The Holy Post Podcast Episode #411 (1:04:30 mark)

Dear God, idols, idols, idols. How many do I have? Can I count that high? My relationships with my children. My wife. That’s just a start. Stable income. Helping the poor. Christian service. Working out. Weight loss. Gluttony.

I was listening to this podcast yesterday, and this man describing his vision of how his life should be turning out as being an idol in his life with which he has had to reckon really struck me. Been there. Still there. My own health. My wife’s health. See, I just keep coming up with more. My right to respite, travel, and fun. My goodness, when I examine my heart just a little I find idols everywhere.

I have a particularly challenging situation I’m facing at work right now. I want to absolutely do what is right and what you want done. I don’t want to make an idol out of friendships or the path that is easier for me. I also don’t want to be rash and cruel. I don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I want to be an example of your presence. I want the organization to be better for having gone through this. I want each individual to be better for having gone through this.

Father, I know my biggest failure in this area over the years is the idol I made of my relationship with my children. I’m slowly learning to turn loose of them and care more about what they need from me to and experience you rather than what I need from them to satisfy my ego or insecurities. But I know I have other idols too. Heck, I’ve listed just a few of them for you. Help me to know how to die to these idols and give all of my worship to you. Ooo, that seems like a dangerous prayer. Be gentle with me, please.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 8, 2020 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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The Mockery of Baal — 1 Kings 18:25-29, 36-39

27 Apr


The image above is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image is called “Prophets of Baal” as was created by Diego Jourdan Pereira.

1 Kings 18:25-29,36-39
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.” So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord , are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord —he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

Dear God, before I get into the image the Pereira created to go with this story, I want to focus for a minute on something that struck me while I was reading it. The prophets of Baal went to the links of cutting “themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.” The thought that I had that I don’t think I have had before is, how many times have I sacrificed myself waiting for an idol to pay off? Yes, looking back it seems like their custom was ridiculous, but is it any different than what I do when I expect my money, my job, my marriage, or my kids to do something for me. When I give and give and give to them not out of love but out of expectation of them, isn’t that just as foolish?

Now, back to this image, I’ll be rank and SA that I cannot make heads or tails of it. Is the large man in the picture Elijah? Are those images of Baal or the prophets of Baal under his arms? I see the bull’s horns on the bottom right. I see the Sun. But I’m not sure what else it is I’m seeing.

Father, at the end of the day, I just need to be reminded that It is easy for me to make idols–even an idol of you. Not the real you, of course, but of the you that my mind wants to create. The you that I expect to give me what I want and do what I want you to do. Making an idol of that image of you is as bad as making an idol out of anything else. I want to worship the real you. The powerful you. Not the you that does what I want you to do. I certainly need a God whom I serve, not one that serves me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 27, 2019 in 1 Kings, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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