Ok, I'll admit it...I never caught the whole American Idol craze...I can't even tell you who the contestants are...am I pitiful or what? So no comments here with that. Sorry Staceracer, that one was all yours! =) hee,hee

There are many passages about idol worship in scripture. In thinking about idols this week I read several things and then looked it up in the dictionary. I found the 3 definitions interesting.

1. an image worshiped as a god
2. a false god
3. an object of passionate devotion

I found it interesting that even the dictionary said an idol was FALSE. It really easy to say, oh I'm ok...I don't have any little statues around that I worship...or do we? Anything that takes a higher place than God is an idol. I think we as Americans we are bombarded by things that can easily become idols. Good things...cool stuff, kids, sports, people, work, family, music, or hobbies can become idols.

Exodus 20:2 - You shall have no other gods before me.

So who or what do you give more time or importance to than God. Keep God #1.

Who's your Idol?

First I have to say...GO CHRIS! He seemed to me all along like the underdog, but I just loved how humble and shocked he was to win. WooHoo! Ok enough of American Idol. I really want to take this another direction. My fellow bloggers have talked about what God thinks about idols and other Gods. However in life I think it is really important to have people in our lives that we can look up to and have as role models. I am just a little concerned about who our kids are choosing to look up to these days. Brittany, Lindsay, Paris... Need I say more??? Who should we be comparing ourselves to?
What about the soldiers that have given their lives to serve our country? After this weekend of fun and bbqs, I thought of all the men and women that have lost their lives for our freedom. What about all the civilians who risked their lives to save someone on 9-11? I got this e-mail and it hit home...



I hope we can all rethink who our idols are!

America's Idol

One of us had to go there right? I mean the topic this week is "Idols" and it just so happens to fall right after the finale of one of the most popular shows on tv. A coincidence? Maybe, but in all reality, Americans have become obsessed with this show. So much so, that we plan our schedules around the Tuesday/Wednesday night airing and love to gather around the perverbial water cooler the next day to debate who sang the best, who looked the best and what was the rudest thing Simon said. As Americans we tend to throw the world "idol" around very easily. We use it for sports figures, musicians, tv personalities, etc,...As christians we have to be very careful that we don't cross the line between admiration and appreciation for their God given talents and idol worship of the people themselves. God is the ONLY one who deserves our worship.

I see an idol as anything that occupies a place in our esteem and affections, in our thoughts, words and ways, in our dependence and reliance, in our worship and devotedness, which is due to God only. God takes idol worship very seriously. So much so that it made the TOP TEN (the 10 Commandments). It falls in as number two...numero dos...
"You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments."

Our God is a jealous God. He designed us to WORSHIP him and him alone. As a result, the human heart is only satisfied if it accomplishes what it was created to do...WORSHIP God. Unfortunately, we often search for substitues for his love and exchange our God for wordly idols. We look for the momentary happiness in things of this world, but only God can satisfy our needs. Created things can never be a subsititute for him. "Our souls are restless until they find rest in God," said Augustine. Only God can satisfy.

Wouldn't it be great if God became America's Idol. If all the time we spent watching the show we put into reading his word... and instead of talking about the idols around the water cooler we talked about God and his great love for us. What a different world this would be.

Table for 2 please!

The Bible is clear on idol worship - don't do it! An idol is not necessarily a person or a figure. It can be a habit, an idea or a way of life. It can be your spouse, a parent, a sibling or even a child. Bottom line - it is anything you place before God.

I love journals. The problem is when I buy a new one I cannot bring myself to write in it because I don't want to mess it up...so, most of them remain blank. The same is true about Idols - they look so pretty on the outside and you find yourself collecting them without realizing it, but then you open them and realize they are empty on the inside. There is no substance, only surface level satisfaction. The only fulfilling idol you can have is God.

While reading my Bible in preperation for this week, I was led to one of my favorite books, 1 Corinthians. Chapter 10 is titled 'Warning against Idolatry'. For those of you who think you do not need a lesson on the danger of idolatry - think again! I'm sure God is putting up yellow warning tape all around your dream world as we speak. Why? Check out chapter 10, verse 21, which caught my attention because it explained my personal dealings with idolatry.

"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."

I often find myself unable to pry my hand away from the cup of demons. Of course I think I am getting cozy with God but it's a false comfort because I am really not putting Him first. My table is littered with cups. What are in my cups of demons? To name a few...
Celebrity Gossip
My husband
Secular ideology
My Blackberry
Facebook
Money
Material possessions

Sometimes I find myself knee deep in idol worship before I recognize it for what it is!

Have you ever wanted to try to cleanly pull a tablecloth out from under a set table? Imagine God is the tablecloth and you have a bunch of stuff just sitting on top of Him. Pull the cloth and walkaway from the mess. You are holding on to the only thing that matters.

Take a look at your cup and your table. Recognize what is taking priority over God in your life, walk away from the table of demons and have a seat for 2 with God at his table.