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Worshiping false gods: Who's in charge of your life?
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RELIGIOUSLYINCORRECT.org
The false god you see pictured to your left is probably beneath the dignity of many modern Christians.
No, we don't bow down to images like this.
We don't hide miniature statues in our closets and pay clandestine homage.
We don't light candles in our living rooms and worship a mute picture on the wall.
No—in our sophisticated U.S. Christian society, and many other western countries—our false gods are far more elaborate, far more
complex, far more "mature."
They are "virtual" false gods.
Just as we've computer designed everything from flight simulators to architectural structures, we've also computer designed
the god we worship.
We've programmed him and shaped him and molded our ever-changing god to be a bit of everything we like.
His composition contains a little bit of family upbringing, perhaps a dab of "Sunday school" teaching, a sprinkle of
societal and religious correctness, all blended together with the spices of our own think-sos—and, of
course, not to be forgotten—topped off with some of the Bible.
After all, we ARE "Bible-believing" Christians, aren't we?
Indeed, any insinuation to the contrary would be truly insulting.
And alongside that virtual god often sits other little false gods. False gods of materialism, money, entertainment, addiction, and the like. Yes,
just as Paul said, we are slaves to whatever we obey (Romans 6).
And sometimes, even among true Christians, these false gods can start taking a prominent place in our hearts.
Maybe not "the most" prominent position. That's reserved for the God of the Bible, naturally.
But sometimes our hearts can become shared with other "gods," false gods.
And what may have started as a little corner of our minds can grow to become more substantial—if we're not careful.
The first and greatest commandment
Jesus said:
`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
(Matthew 22:37-38)
The "first and GREATEST commandment?" It therefore must be really, really important!
And to give us a better idea of what He was speaking about, Jesus also added (see Mark 12:30)
"and with all your strength"—meaning,
with your ACTIONS, or with your FULL OBEDIENCE.
In other words, if you truly Love God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, above all, then you will sincerely strive to OBEY them—FULLY.
And, you will not only love God
in thought, not only in verbal expressions that you have faith—but you will also show this love in action.
In fact, James said that "faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). Paul also spoke of this when he mentioned
"the obedience that comes from faith."
Physical Israel failed to get the point
Of course, Jesus wasn't the first in this world to say "love God with ALL your mind and with ALL your actions." It was Moses, who
said to Israel:
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS, to love him, to serve
the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today FOR
YOUR OWN GOOD.
(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Friend, if you really do love God with ALL (not "most") of your heart, you will then strive to obey ALL ("not most") of His commands.
You will strive to "walk in ALL God's ways."
You will not only "love" Him in word, or in expression of faith—but you will show your faith is genuine by your true obedience.
Moses wrote:
If you FULLY OBEY the LORD your God and CAREFULLY FOLLOW ALL HIS COMMANDS I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your
flocks...You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
...If you PAY ATTENTION to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and CAREFULLY FOLLOW them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
DO NOT TURN ASIDE FROM ANY OF THE COMMANDS I GIVE YOU TODAY, TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT, following other gods and serving them.
(Deuteronomy 28:1,13)
At the TOP of the 10 commandments to Israel, God strictly forbade them to worship false gods. And this was repeated many, many times
to the children of Israel through the prophets of their time.
But they never could seem to get the point.
Like many today, they felt that as long as they worshiped the Israeli God too, then being "tolerant" of the other religions
around them was fine.
Later, they started marrying foreign wives. Their hearts were softened, their views became a little more understanding
and tolerant—and before they knew it they were worshiping foreign gods too.
They were making sacrifices to them, participating in the rituals, etc.
But don't get me wrong. They STILL believed the REAL God of heaven! They still had the right God, the right Bible, the right
religion, and even preachers who were confirming their conviction that all was well with the world.
They had undoubtedly become like so many today: they had "evolved" their religion to become more "mature" people. Like many today,
they had undoubtedly determined that as long as everyone believed in some "god" and people were "good and moral" (by their own definition,
of course)—then surely God, or their "gods," would understand!
And because of this, and many other disobediences that followed (for example, failure to keep "doctrinal" commands like the Sabbath day and
marrying only other Jews), Israel was doomed to a catastrophic fate.
Jesus Christ is our LORD
224 times in Matthew through Acts the word "Lord" is used referring to Jesus—then I got tired of counting!
That's about 1.2 times per page, about 9 pt. font.
The question is: Why would God repeat the word "Lord" so often?
Clearly, the Holy Spirit was trying to tell us something—something that was extremely important and fundamental.
So fundamental that on practically every page of the New Testament, we're reminded of Who should be in charge of our lives.
And He deserves to be. After all, He died for our sins. He's Head of His church, His spiritual kingdom, the one all true Christians belong to
(Col 1:18).
And, He has risen from the dead and has been exalted to the right hand of God, where He intercedes with God on our behalf when we pray
(Acts 2:32-33,36).
That's why each of us who are saved confessed Christ in the beginning (Romans 10:9-10).
Therefore understanding "Who is Lord" and what "Lord" actually means—is vital.
And what does it mean?
It means every decision of your life must first past the test of Christ's approval.
Every decision we make, action we take, every thought we think—must first pass through the filter of Christ's approval.
It means: full obedience. But—HOW can you be FULLY OBEDIENT if you don't know WHAT to obey?
Thus, submitting to Christ as Lord involves an active determination to LEARN what His will is. Ignorance cannot forever be
an excuse for lack of obedience.
The Bible is our Guide. When we read it, we're reading what God wants of us, what our Lord desires of us.
This is His message from Him to You. Listen to it.
Have an insatiable curiosity about it, and actively learn it with an honest, open heart. This is the Creator speaking to you.
Take this information therefore more seriously and more respectfully than anything else you hear or read.
And, as you learn more about His will, you must obey. Accepting Christ as Lord
means doing whatever He wants—not doing whatever He wants UNLESS you disapprove. If that's the case, then YOU are actually the true
Lord of your life, not Christ. The "god of self" runs your life ultimately.
Unfortunately, the "god of self" cannot save you!
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