If you are like me everytime I read through the Bible there are certain topics or thoughts that seem to stick out to me that maybe I didn't always see before. It is no different this time through the Bible. Especially in the Old Testament there is a constant reference to how much 'Idol Worship' really pushed God's buttons. The Israelites were constantly rebuked and even punished for their relentless involvement with idols. On a number of occasions I caught myself thinking how foolish these people were. How can God make it any clearer for them? If they turn from their idols He will bless them, and if they continue to serve their idols, He will allow them to face destruction. Immediately you would think that they would stoke their fires and burn every last one of those statue idols. One thing is for sure, that is what I would have done. Right!
It was easy for me to think 'Idol Worship' was not something that I even remotely struggled with until a fairly new believer in Christ asked me to explain the commandment of 'No other god before the one and only God', 'Idol Worship'. Little did I know that this question was going to open a whole new realm of things God was going to work on in my life. 'Idol Worship' is anything that we give our life, our resources, our passions, and our thoughts to! The Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing...to meditate on the word of God day and night. When I discovered this definition I began to see how my life was guilty of this kind of idoltry. Every time I would take my eyes off of God and place them on the obstacles in my life, worrying about what might happen, I was engaging in a form of idolatry. How? By worshipping the problem rather than the Creator of the universe. God created me to give Him worship, yet I was taking this very valuable gift and putting it at the feet of another master. The master or idol being my problems, my goliath, my fear of the obstacles. Day and night thinking about them and trying to figure out a way around them. Yet they only grew and became tormenting as I meditated on these seemingly impossible challenges until God opened my eyes to see that I was putting my worship at the feet of the obstacle. The obstacle was receiving more of my attention than the one who really wanted it.
David was a man after God's own heart that did not meditate at the idol of Goliath. Instead he worshipped God even while he was charging this seemingly indestructible giant. David worshipped the God of the universe and it was this kind of worship that reduced the size of every obstacle.
Do not make an idol out of your struggle, obstacles, or giants. Remember God is not only angry when we do, He is appalled that we would give our greatest gift, Our Worship, to an idol that has no power. If you are overwhelmed, stop and connect with God. When you do and when you begin to see the granduer of who God is, every struggle will lose its power. Try it right now, it will work.
Although there are many forms and descriptions of idols in the Bible, this is a form that is radically changing my life. "Stop worshipping the struggle." I pray it will give you the same peace it has given me.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
You Said What?
Has anyone ever said something to you that stopped you in your tracks. You are listening intently right up to that point when out of no where they make that statement. You know the one I am talking about. That statement that causes you to shut down and lick your wounds. The kind of statement that you perceive was designed to attack you in a personal way. It is a statement of offense. We have all been there. That place when we shut down and look for a way to escape the conversation which we perceive is meant to attack us.
It is in that moment that we are faced with an extraordinary challenge. We must somehow reject the natural inclination to allow offense to settle in the fertile soils of our mind. Inviting a seed that is designed to eventually produce a lack of perspective, bitterness, and even revenge. All because we failed to recognize the gravity of power a seed of offense can have in our life and how it can influence the decisions of our life.
You have a choice! It is your choice whether you want to be an offended person or not. First you must realize that offense is something that invites Satan to come into your life. Many people have labeled a offended person as someone who has a Spirit of offense. There is a lot of truth to that. Why? Because that is exactly what Satan is trying to do in each of us. He is trying to steal, devour and destroy you. (These three things are the vision icons in Hell, Steal, Devour, Destroy) So he uses settle methods to accomplish his plan. When we latch on to an offensive comment we are opening the door for a spirit of offense invade our life.
This is where we as Christians must stand up and live the Scriptures. We do not battle against flesh and blood, but spiritual forces that are waging war against us. Do we get it? God is telling us that we are to recognize that we are fighting in a spiritual realm and therefore, must respond in kind. How does that translate to life? It means that we are to lean of God through the Cross to give us the ability to LOVE and FORGIVE people who are either willfully or unwillfully offending us. Sure you may have a right to be angry, but eventually you need to release that offense from your memory bank.
Think with me for a moment. Have you ever said something or done something that has offended someone so deeply it destroyed your relationship or at the very least put a wedge in it. Everyone of us are guilty! We have all done something that is offensive to others. In those situations it is our hope that those we have hurt would find it in their heart to forgive us, for things we either didn't mean or wished we didn't say. This is the answer. The Bible says, that we will reap what we sow. It is a principle that reigns true in this matter.
When we become people who release a spirit of forgiveness and of love, the seed of offense will be destroyed and the spirit of offense will not be able to come into our life. We overcome offense by loving and forgiving the offender. Then as we practice this in our life, we will begin to reap the same response from those around us who we unfortunately say something offensive too.
You may be reading this blog today thinking that you are fine. The interesting thing about people who have a spirit of offense cannot always see it. Ask someone that you know and trust, if they think you are offended by someone. Be sure not to ask someone that may also share in your offense. But a neutral person that will be honest with you. You will find that dealing with offense in the right way will be great Joy and a sense of Liberty that God desires for your life. Turn every offensive moment into an action of Grace! Isn't that what Christ wants.
It is in that moment that we are faced with an extraordinary challenge. We must somehow reject the natural inclination to allow offense to settle in the fertile soils of our mind. Inviting a seed that is designed to eventually produce a lack of perspective, bitterness, and even revenge. All because we failed to recognize the gravity of power a seed of offense can have in our life and how it can influence the decisions of our life.
You have a choice! It is your choice whether you want to be an offended person or not. First you must realize that offense is something that invites Satan to come into your life. Many people have labeled a offended person as someone who has a Spirit of offense. There is a lot of truth to that. Why? Because that is exactly what Satan is trying to do in each of us. He is trying to steal, devour and destroy you. (These three things are the vision icons in Hell, Steal, Devour, Destroy) So he uses settle methods to accomplish his plan. When we latch on to an offensive comment we are opening the door for a spirit of offense invade our life.
This is where we as Christians must stand up and live the Scriptures. We do not battle against flesh and blood, but spiritual forces that are waging war against us. Do we get it? God is telling us that we are to recognize that we are fighting in a spiritual realm and therefore, must respond in kind. How does that translate to life? It means that we are to lean of God through the Cross to give us the ability to LOVE and FORGIVE people who are either willfully or unwillfully offending us. Sure you may have a right to be angry, but eventually you need to release that offense from your memory bank.
Think with me for a moment. Have you ever said something or done something that has offended someone so deeply it destroyed your relationship or at the very least put a wedge in it. Everyone of us are guilty! We have all done something that is offensive to others. In those situations it is our hope that those we have hurt would find it in their heart to forgive us, for things we either didn't mean or wished we didn't say. This is the answer. The Bible says, that we will reap what we sow. It is a principle that reigns true in this matter.
When we become people who release a spirit of forgiveness and of love, the seed of offense will be destroyed and the spirit of offense will not be able to come into our life. We overcome offense by loving and forgiving the offender. Then as we practice this in our life, we will begin to reap the same response from those around us who we unfortunately say something offensive too.
You may be reading this blog today thinking that you are fine. The interesting thing about people who have a spirit of offense cannot always see it. Ask someone that you know and trust, if they think you are offended by someone. Be sure not to ask someone that may also share in your offense. But a neutral person that will be honest with you. You will find that dealing with offense in the right way will be great Joy and a sense of Liberty that God desires for your life. Turn every offensive moment into an action of Grace! Isn't that what Christ wants.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Flashbulbs
A few years ago my wife and I had the opportunity to visit the city of Love, Paris. It was an overwhelming experience to see all the landmarks of times past. Although we were not able to go to all the sites, there was one site that we could not miss. You've probably already guessed that it was the Eiffel Tower. The first night that we were in Paris, we were sitting at a Cafe' that had a great view of the tower. While we were sitting there having expressos, the tower lights began to sparkle as it did the night that the New Year 2000 arrived. The sight of it is unbelievable! The next evening, we made our ascent to the top of the tower. Once at the top, we looked over the city of Paris and were amazed by the size and beauty of the city. It was not long after arriving at top that the tower began to sparkle once again. At that moment, something interesting occurred. As we looked out over the city, we began to see the city sparkle. The sparkling had not come from lights that had been planted throughout the city, but rather from flash bulbs of cameras. People were taking pictures of the tower sparkling. From miles away, we were able to see the lights from small little flashbulbs.
In comparison, there are times in the church that we become discouraged as we let our light shine. We may feel insignificant and really unimportant to the Kingdom of God. I want to tell you that, "This is a lie of the enemy."
Hebrews 10:35 "Cast not away your confidence." Each one of us has an important role in the Kingdom of God.
As we display Christ in our dark world, there will be many people around us who will see our light, but they nay not respond immediately or they may not respond the way we would like them to. However, think about those people who are able to see your light for whom you do not even know. Those people who are miles away from having a relationship with you, and it is that flash of light that gives them hope in their dark world for something different than the darkness they are facing. Do not presume that because you have not always received a desired response from another person that your light has not ministered to that person or perhaps someone else. Abraham faced discouragement year after year, and he died knowing that God promised him to be the father of a large nation of people. Yet, he died having one son with Sarah. He was faced with the choice of either becoming discouraged with the circumstances, or the faith that God would fulfill His promise-no matter what the circumstances looked like.
Those flashbulbs didn't light the city by themselves, but collectively they made the darkness of Paris sparkle. Remember, it takes all of us shining our light that will make this country sparkle. How is it that we produce a flash? By gazing upon who Christ is, and making that picture real and active in our life. It is interesting to see how a beautiful, sparkling tower caused a city to respond in a likewise way. For when we gaze and meditate on Christ, who is a sparkling tower, there is an impartation that will occur into our lives which will cause us to sparkle as well. You see, even in God's creation, how the moon shines in the dark night. Although, the light that comes from the moon is not its own, but it is comes from the sun. As the moon beholds the sun, it becomes a reflection of that light. For if we desire to be a sparkling light in our world we must first behold and take in the source, Jesus Christ. When we do that, it will become natural for us to become a sparkling light. For we can and will never sparkle as Christ if we fail to meditate and fellowship with Him.
Remember that song you learned as a child, "Hide it under a bushel, NO! I'm going to let it shine." Isn't it time that we let it shine?
In comparison, there are times in the church that we become discouraged as we let our light shine. We may feel insignificant and really unimportant to the Kingdom of God. I want to tell you that, "This is a lie of the enemy."
Hebrews 10:35 "Cast not away your confidence." Each one of us has an important role in the Kingdom of God.
As we display Christ in our dark world, there will be many people around us who will see our light, but they nay not respond immediately or they may not respond the way we would like them to. However, think about those people who are able to see your light for whom you do not even know. Those people who are miles away from having a relationship with you, and it is that flash of light that gives them hope in their dark world for something different than the darkness they are facing. Do not presume that because you have not always received a desired response from another person that your light has not ministered to that person or perhaps someone else. Abraham faced discouragement year after year, and he died knowing that God promised him to be the father of a large nation of people. Yet, he died having one son with Sarah. He was faced with the choice of either becoming discouraged with the circumstances, or the faith that God would fulfill His promise-no matter what the circumstances looked like.
Those flashbulbs didn't light the city by themselves, but collectively they made the darkness of Paris sparkle. Remember, it takes all of us shining our light that will make this country sparkle. How is it that we produce a flash? By gazing upon who Christ is, and making that picture real and active in our life. It is interesting to see how a beautiful, sparkling tower caused a city to respond in a likewise way. For when we gaze and meditate on Christ, who is a sparkling tower, there is an impartation that will occur into our lives which will cause us to sparkle as well. You see, even in God's creation, how the moon shines in the dark night. Although, the light that comes from the moon is not its own, but it is comes from the sun. As the moon beholds the sun, it becomes a reflection of that light. For if we desire to be a sparkling light in our world we must first behold and take in the source, Jesus Christ. When we do that, it will become natural for us to become a sparkling light. For we can and will never sparkle as Christ if we fail to meditate and fellowship with Him.
Remember that song you learned as a child, "Hide it under a bushel, NO! I'm going to let it shine." Isn't it time that we let it shine?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Life is Like a Roller Coaster
It is true that most Americans cringe at the sound of the word 'restraint'. It is one of those words that make us feel like we are being robbed of our basic right to freedom. This last summer I had an experience that truly brought new meaning to this word 'restraint'. My wife and I took a camping trip with our three daughters to the infamous amusement park of Indiana Beach. There we would discover a roller coaster that my daughters would ride over 40 times, called the 'Steel Hawg'. It is a coaster that is thirty seconds full of corkscrews, upside down loops, inverted falls, and other various turns that caused your organs to shift to one side of your body before instantly being jolted to the other side. After only two times my girls fell in love with this ride, so we rode it until the park closed. While waiting in line we noticed that they stopped a cart on the coaster because one of the women in the cart wanted to get out. As she passed us she kept saying, "I can't do it, I just can't do it." What could she not do that would cause her to miss this exciting experience? She could not get herself to trust the safety restraints that would keep her in the cart. Even though these restraints were keeping people in their seats and keeping them safe all day, she could not take the risk that she to would be protected. So she missed a great experience.
Psalms 119:93 "I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life."
More than any other people on earth, Christians should know what it means to have abundant life. Life is full of all kinds of experiences that at times seem like we are hanging upside down or being put through a corkscrew turn. Yet we can live without fear when we allow God's restraints, precepts, to protect us from falling out of the cart. We have been given and live by principles that have been established since the beginning of time. They are true and will never fail. There are some that believe that God protects other people but think God would not show them the same favor. Yet it is our submission to do what God says, not so much who we are, that gives us His protection. When we allow ourselves to submit to the principles, precepts, and commands of God we are allowing these restraints to give us an unimaginable freedom to experience true life.
Imagine for a moment an amusement park with roller coasters that did not believe in using safety restraints. It would be no surprise to see and hear about people being thrown from the cart falling to their demise. Yet we try to live life without the eternal safety restraints put in place by God. Trust the commands(restraints) of God to protect you especially in the times we live in. All that this world is putting their trust in is falling apart. They don't know who or what to trust, and that is breeding an atmosphere of hopelessness. Can I tell you that as we go through these times we can always have hope and peace because God does not change and He is still in control. Though you walk through all kinds of troubles do not fear because God will be with you and His precepts will guard and protect you.
Pastor James Biffert
Bethel
Psalms 119:93 "I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life."
More than any other people on earth, Christians should know what it means to have abundant life. Life is full of all kinds of experiences that at times seem like we are hanging upside down or being put through a corkscrew turn. Yet we can live without fear when we allow God's restraints, precepts, to protect us from falling out of the cart. We have been given and live by principles that have been established since the beginning of time. They are true and will never fail. There are some that believe that God protects other people but think God would not show them the same favor. Yet it is our submission to do what God says, not so much who we are, that gives us His protection. When we allow ourselves to submit to the principles, precepts, and commands of God we are allowing these restraints to give us an unimaginable freedom to experience true life.
Imagine for a moment an amusement park with roller coasters that did not believe in using safety restraints. It would be no surprise to see and hear about people being thrown from the cart falling to their demise. Yet we try to live life without the eternal safety restraints put in place by God. Trust the commands(restraints) of God to protect you especially in the times we live in. All that this world is putting their trust in is falling apart. They don't know who or what to trust, and that is breeding an atmosphere of hopelessness. Can I tell you that as we go through these times we can always have hope and peace because God does not change and He is still in control. Though you walk through all kinds of troubles do not fear because God will be with you and His precepts will guard and protect you.
Pastor James Biffert
Bethel
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