Monthly Archives: August 2018
Heart Check
Ps.100:3 “Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”
Augustine of Hippo says, “Idolatry is worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped.” Attempting to use The One to be worshipped is the second dimension of idolatry. It is natural for us human beings to want to leverage on the influence in our networks to get ahead, get out of trouble, or to get an advantage. For instance, you are bidding for a contract in an organization where the CEO was your childhood friend. What a lot of people will do is place a call to the CEO and leverage on that relationship. We tend to leverage on the influence of powerful people Read the rest of this entry
Created Things
Prov.6:6 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 8 they labour hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”
Just as today’s Scripture reference suggests, we must take a lesson from the created things. For instance, eagles ruffle their nests and push their eaglets out of the nest – fly or fall! Read the rest of this entry
God’s Heritage
Ps.127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. 5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them…”
God has blessed us with families but our families become idols when we forget what they are for. Your family is a representation of God’s Kingdom on earth where righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit is saturated. Read the rest of this entry
Worship vs. Idolatry
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”
Augustine of Hippo defines idolatry as, “…worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped” God says we must not commit idolatry. Read the rest of this entry
Get Wisdom
Prov.1:5 [ERV] “Even the wise could become wiser by listening… They gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. 7 Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.”
C. S. Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters described the concept of “My”. He explained how we misuse or are misled by the concept of “My.” Read the rest of this entry
Incomparable
Isa.46:9 “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. 10 Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”
As human beings, it is natural for us to create an image of someone we have not seen but our imaginations are faulty. People have created pictures of Jesus that they carry on their bracelets. It is idolatry – and it is wrong. Some people are carrying pictures of Mary or pictures of angels that look like midgets, because they want to associate with divinity and so they can feel connected to God. As much as those things make people feel good on the temporary, it robs God of His glory. Read the rest of this entry
Worship
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” [with emphasis]
The second commandment is, “You shall not make idols”, and it is The Battle with Worship. Over the next couple of days, we will be looking closely at the second commandment- our struggle with worship. Read the rest of this entry
Enjoyment
Ps.63:4 “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. 6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.”
People that actively engage in sports –soccer for instance can attest to the fact that a little rain or a lot of rain, does not affect your passion or the game as the case may be. People that play soccer are familiar with the term “Rain-ball”. Read the rest of this entry
Just Because
Ps.63:2-4 [MSG] “So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory. In your generous love, I am really living at last! My lips brim praises like fountains. I bless you every time I take a breath; My arms wave like banners of praise to you.”
When your pursuit is after the person, the passion is effortless. But when you pursue the passion, it becomes elusive and after a while, tasteless because it is all about the passion. When we gather to worship, it is because we want to cultivate our affection for God. Read the rest of this entry
Love Truly
Rom.8:31 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”
A kidnapper says, “You are mine” on the basis of power. A lover says, “You are mine” on the basis of affection. You may submit to raw power but you will never love raw power. When a servant hears, “You are mine”, do you know it creates a different set of emotions than when a child hears, “You are mine?” What goes through the servant’s mind when he hears, “You are mine” is probably, ‘one day I will get my freedom and I too will become a master.’ But the child will also say to the father or mother, “You are my daddy or Mummy!” The emotions and the responses are always different based on the relationship. Read the rest of this entry
