Beware of the idols that you have elevated to prominence in your life. What draws your devotion and attention away from God? Do you desire to seek God first and foremost in your life? As we go about life in this sin cursed world we take for ourselves many of the habits of our family, friends and culture. Beware of the habits you have developed. Are you seeking to first seek God and love Him with all of your being? The things of this world that you treasure and delight in easily become idols that you worship as they crowd out our desire for God. Beware of these idols that are shallow, powerless and bring death to your life. “Their idol are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears; but they cannot heart; they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts i n them.” Psalm 115:4-8 Continue Reading…
Beware of the idols that encroach upon your peaceful existence: Psalm 115
It is all about God and not about us: Psalm 112
What does it mean to fear the Lord? How do we reconcile the idea that we will feel delight and a desire to praise God while we fear Him? “Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.” Psalm 112:1 Should the fear of the Lord bring a negative connotation our mind? This fear of God should not be equated with the sin tainted fear that is all too common throughout the world. To fear the Lord is to look upon Him as the creator God who creates, upholds, and judges all things. We need to see the great awe and wonder of God that compels us to fall on our knees and worship Him. Out of this fear, awe and wonder we will be compelled to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength because of His nature expressed towards us. This wholehearted love expression will also manifest itself to the people around us as we delight in God. We delight in God and praise His name because of who He is and what He has done. Continue Reading…
What do you serve, God or your idols: Psalm 97
What do you serve? Do you serve your job, friends, money, pleasures or knowledge as idols? Have you placed worldly ambition and selfish desires as the main focus and desire of your life. “Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of Your judgements, O Lord. For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.” Psalm 97:7-9 Only God is worthy of our worship. Be on guard against the idols that creep into your life. Remember the mighty works of God throughout all of creation for all time. “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 97:10 Do you love the Lord? He will deliver all of those who love Him. Trust in Him and not yourself. Continue Reading…
Sing your song of praise for all God has done: Psalm 47
What does it mean to praise God? In Psalm 47 the sons of Korah proclaim the power, might and deeds of God. “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.” Psalm 47:1,2 In praising God we are calling those around us to join us in acknowledgement of all that God has done. What has God done in your life? Do you openly share His work with those around you so the name of the Lord might be praised? Each and every deed of God is worthy of our awe, praise and adoration. “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm.” Psalm 47:6,7 Will you sing praise to God? Will you proclaim the goodness of God? Continue Reading…
Arise, cleanse, and restore the Temple: 2 Chronicles 29 and 30
What was important to Hezekiah? After the reign of Ahaz the kingdom of Judah is left in complete disarray. The temple is defiled and the people are worshiping idols and sacrificing their children. What would you do if you were Hezekiah? “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.” 2 Chronicles 29:3 The greatest concern of Hezekiah when he took over the reign of Judah was to restore the people’s dependance on God. What effect did Ahaz’s damage to the Temple have on the people when they were barred from entry? How should leader handle a situation where people have lost all regard for God?
It was vitally important for Hezekiah to tell the people of Judah how they strayed from God as seen in 2 Chronicles 29:6-11. The heart of Hezekiah is laid bare before the priests and Levites of Judah, “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.” 2 Chronicles 29:10,11 Why is a tenderhearted leader so important? Hezekiah needed the priests and Levites to help point the people of Judah back to God. His openness before the people shows how sincerely he desired that all of Judah seek after God. If you are a leader do you openly share your heart with those you lead? What effect does that openness have? Continue Reading…
Beautiful picture of God and His beloved: 1 Chronicles 15 and 16
I thought that 1 Chronicles 13 and 14 revolved around the idea of celebration and worship of God but it pales in comparison to the details given in 1 Chronicles 15 and 16. The over all story covers the arrival of the Ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The text also makes it clear why Uzza died at the threshing floor when the ark was transported by cart. In the urgency, excitement, and celebration over the kingship of David the Israelites forgot to adhere to the commands of God about the handling of the Ark. Did the years of everyone doing what was right in their own eyes lead to the forgetfulness of the people to remember God’s commands? All too often I failure is found to be the best reminder and teacher when it comes to our faith in God. Continue Reading…
Celebration and worship of God: 1 Chronicles 13 and 14
Do we ever celebrate before God with all our might? In 1 Chronicles 13 the people celebrated before God with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets and from 2 Samuel 6:14 we know that David danced for joy as the people celebrated. How do christians today celebrate before God? Can the idea of celebration mentioned in 1 Chronicles be equated with our worship today? Why does music play such an integral part of our celebration and worship of God? All too often the church today has subjects its own viewpoint upon the definition of worship of God by claiming what is correct and true worship without concern for what the Bible says. In these moments we claim the authority only God has by presuming to know what worship would be if we were God. What does the Bible say about worship? How does the greatest commandment to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength play interact in our worship of God. Continue Reading…
True worship of God expressed in love: 1 Kings 7 and 8
Why did Solomon build such an amazing Temple? Why are we given such details about the actual Temple building and all of the fixtures within the Temple? Does God look at the physical building when people gather to worship him or does He look upon the motives of the people who are gathering to worship Him? What do you think God cares about? The question of how we worship God is nothing new because we are always trying to obtain a direct, tangible, and concrete definition of what faith in God truly looks like. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” Hebrews 11:1,2 In Hebrews we are told that the men of old gained approval by faith and a long list of noteworthy people of renown are listed. So why did Solomon build this temple for the Lord? What does worship look like? What is expressed in worship? Continue Reading…
Love, worship, and follow: Leviticus Summary
Leviticus is a continuation of a love story. In this chapter of the story God instructs Israel with an in depth view of the 10 Commandments that He gave to Moses in Exodus 20. My view on the book of Leviticus was challenged and changed through my slow reading of it. My initial perspective was that Leviticus was a book of bloody sacrifice and my only route to get through it was using a ‘blitzkrieg’ method for reading it quickly. There are a lot of laws and sacrifices presented in the book but it is just the opening paragraph to God’s redemption of man. The Israelites were worshiping and following God by obeying Him.
The beautifully barbaric and blood sacrifice of Leviticus 1 and 2
When I have read the different offerings that the Lord commanded the Israelites in the past I always thought it was too violent and bloody and I never really wanted to understand it more. Oh how wrong I was. Leviticus is not just boring laws filled with sacrifices, it is a passionate account of worship. Continue Reading…
