Let Go of Idols - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) May 11, 2021
Updated: Oct 19, 2023
2 Kings 17:35-39 - 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, He commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To Him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands He wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” (NIV)
The above sounds like Old Testament concerns, right? But what if I told you these verses and particularly those that are bolded are modern issues we all have to contend with?
What is an idol? It is anything in your life that is more important than the Lord. Now, you're thinking - 'Nothing is more important than God to me.' But, is that actually true? Keep in mind, idols are man-created things/issues that cause you to put God and the things of God on the backburner.
How many of us make sacrifices so we can take that great vacation, but won't wake up to fellowship with others on Sunday (or any other day)? How many of us put off our work so we can keep up with what's trending but won't find time to meditate on the word of the Lord? How many of us get a nudge to pray but put it off because our favorite show is on?
We could go on with examples but it is crucial we each look at ourselves critically. What idols have we given power to? Why have we allowed them to usurp the position God is to have in our life? It might take a while to truly identify these issues, but the Lord is He who will break them down for us! For He told us in Deuteronomy 4:24 - For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. He will not share us with anything else.
We must worship God and God alone so we don't forfeit our mortal lives as well as the eternity that awaits us in Heaven. Thank God, for Jesus who advocates for us if not we would have ended up like the Israelites of old who were captured and subdued by other nations. They had to wait decades to return to the land the Lord had freely given to them. With Jesus, however, we have hope of forgiveness and redemption. We are cleansed and empowered by God to reject and no longer be controlled by idols and thereby honor and obey the Lord Almighty.
May God shine a light on the hidden things in our lives that challenge His authority. By His grace and His Spirit, we break free of them, IJMN. Just as the false god Dagon fell before the ark of the covenant (1 Samuel 5:3-4), I pray that all idols and their altars will shatter before the Lord God Almighty. The Alpha and Omega. The Only God. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
See you at noon.
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