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| An Idol Can Be Anyone or Anything |
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20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
Idol:
1. An image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.
2. Bible; a. an image of a deity other than God.
b. the deity itself.
3. any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.
4. a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.
5. a figment of the mind; fantasy.
When I think about it, I am ashamed to say, I have many idols. My husband, my home, my cats, my computer, my church…the list goes on. If your whole life revolves around something or someone other than God, can it be considered an idol?
I think of an idol in Old Testament times as something that was made by man, but that people have made into something it is not. Those idols have taken on an importance and a power that is not reality. People think those idols can have an effect on their daily lives when they have no power whatsoever.
Are the things of great importance in my life, really an idol? I don’t sit down and pray to my television, or expect my cats to have super natural powers. I don’t think my husband can fix everything. And even though I stare at my computer screen a lot, and it connects me to some of my friends, I don’t think it will be responsible for me getting into Heaven. If I were to lose everything, like Job did in the Old Testament, would I still reach out to God? All the things and all the people, and all of my cats will be gone someday. There will be nothing else left when it is all said and done, but my relationship with the Lord.
It is wonderful to have things in our lives that make us happy. People to love, animals to make us laugh. God wants us to enjoy life, but we must also remember who put us here, and who gave us all of our “things”, and who will be the only thing that is left when all else is stripped away.
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| Great points Deb. We just talked about this very thing in our bible study on Wednesday at our church. We were studying the book of Hosea....which has a lot to say about idol worship. |
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| great work there and every where we look there can be an idol for you and for me. |
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I like the refereances to our daily activities. KANNA: "Jealous" (zealous). Ex. 20:5, 34:14; Deut. 5:9; Isa. 9:7; Zech. 1:14, 8:2. has been working on me with these issues also.
JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH: "The Lord Who Sanctifies" Lev. 20:8. "To make whole, set apart for holiness."
gave me a word last year in April
My bride has become a harlot! I will purge and cleanse her before I bring her to my father's house. I always chastise those I love. My wrath and furry will be poured out, I will not tolerate your idol worship, and your participation of your demonic practices. You push your children into the arms and bosom of Lucifer when you say it is just for fun. When will you open your hearts to me, when will you allow me to work in you. I call for the circumcision of your hearts. If you continue your walk with demons I will cut you off. I will destroy the tares that have grown up in my vineyard. You have become old stale salt; I will dump you under my feet, and trample you down. Repent and come back to me my bride, for my wrath is now come. You will see my furry in the hours to come. |
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In Saltville that is called "Hero Worship", I had to re-learn my history, especially about the real life man named "Daniel Boone." He was a real person, not the imagination of Walt Disney. God is Great. |
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| Deb, an idol like you say is if we believe it to be supernatural! I have given up many things BEFORE they became idols, it is knowing how much they rule us and being able to control that limit...thats my view! love Stu. |
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Anything you put above God is an idol.I have a similar list to the one you started minus the cats and add Oodle dogs.How do you purge these things & make God #1 all the time?It's a battle that sometimes God is winning & at other times any of myriad of things is my idol.Great post Deb. |
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My biggest "idol" was the false god that kept me from understanding the nature of the ONE TRUE God. It was an idol, a god that said "as long as you're a good person you'll be ok." and "I woulnd't send anyone to hell" and other things that were lies. But it placated me and kept me comfortable in my sin...because anytime I did something sinful, this 'god' would be the excuse to say 'it's not as bad as..." That kind of god can't send people to hell because it doesn't exist, but it's more dangerous than you think...it kept me for years from seeking the Lord because I thought I already had 'found Him', when I was so far away from where I needed to be. Your family and friends and other parts of your life will only be IDOLs if you put them before the Lord because you think you need them or that they need you more than GOD. GOD CHURCH FAMILY In that order, you'll never go wrong |
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| This is good! A hard lesson,I just learned,but a very important one! Thanks for sharing! |
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| Great message Deb! Augustine once said, "Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped." |
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Wonderful message!! I use to idol my dog, many years ago and he passed on
Then I idoled my few friends only to be let down..the list goes on....
Today I'm grateful I have a relationship with Him and know He will never let me down!!
awesome post!!!
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Deb |
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March 08, 2008 at 8:21am |
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LorenDP, thank you for your comments, and it seems it tied in with your bible study!
Megan, we do have to be careful because there are idols everywhere...we have to make sure we don't worship them.
Gary, I think that is a good thing to point out...we need to examine our lives and see if there might be an idol in there somewhere.
Doyle, thank you!
Tom, thanks for your comments. We have to watch out for hero worship.
Stu, I like to way you put that...it is knowing how much they rule us and being able to control that limit.
racunpoodle, I would have to agree with what you said. It is a constant battle, one that we need to be conscious of and guard against.
Growing in Faith, God, Church, Family...if we keep everything in the right order and perspective, we should be ok!
NoelleofIsrael, I am glad that you have learned the lesson...thanks for your comments!
blessings, thanks!
Pastor Tim, Good way to put it! Thank you for sharing that quote!
ds13099, sometimes we keep hitting our heads against a brick wall, but eventually we wake up and make God first! |
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Deb |
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March 08, 2008 at 1:22pm |
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| Lara, God has to be first...that is just the way it is, and when we do that, He blesses us for it. |
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Deb |
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March 08, 2008 at 1:32pm |
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| Steve, Amen to that. |
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Gene |
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March 08, 2008 at 3:46pm |
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"Anything and anyone can be an idol."
Too true. Anything that takes God's place as the foremost thing in our lives become idolatry. Even the church can become an idol if we choose to focus on it rather than on God. |
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Deb |
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March 09, 2008 at 4:03pm |
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| Gene, as a Christian, we always want to do things "for the church", but as you say, the church can become an idol if we choose to focus on it rather than God. What is our motivation when we do things for the church? Is it for our own pride, or our own fulfilment? Or are we doing it for God? And how do you classify doing it for God? Ah, now you have me thinking of another blog! lol |
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| Deb, great message here. Idols come and go, but the true God is forever. The hardest thing I dealt with was not letting my wife be more important to me than God was - when we first were married. We dealt with that by praying together and keeping God in the midst of us at all times. Turned out to be a great way to establish a marriage foundation. |
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Deb |
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March 16, 2008 at 10:20am |
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| dc, the family that prays together, stays together...I guess that can be a great philosophy for couples too, not only staying together, but keeping things in perspective. There is something about praying together with your spouse. |
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Cheryl |
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March 17, 2008 at 4:51am |
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| I'm a little behind here..just saw this one..how wonderful and true. Gene sums it up though!~ Thanks Deb! |
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Deb |
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March 17, 2008 at 7:31pm |
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| Cheryl, Thanks for commenting...and it is ok if you are a little behind here. It is easy to get behind with so many blogs to read! |
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