There is a children’s book about a little bird that cracked
open his egg and fell out of the nest and goes looking for his mother who he
has never seen. The little
bird asks a cat, a dog, a cow, and even a car and a dirt scoop…. if they are
his mother.
We think this is silly and illogical but isn’t that
precisely what people do with… God?
We can plainly see through history and artifacts of people
worshipping the creation and not the living true God- the Creator. The Egyptians worshipped the gods of Ra,
Isis, Horus, and many more. The
Israelites made a golden calf to worship instead of worshiping the true living
God who miraculously gave them freedom from slavery in Egypt. We see and hear about ancient Greek and
Roman gods like Apollo, Cupid, Hercules, Zeus, Hades, Diana, and
Aphrodite. We see in certain
Catholic churches Mary and the saints are worshipped as gods. We see in the Native American culture
that creation is worshipped not the Creator. In Mexico and sad to say, here in America there are shrines
and statues to Satan, the one who seeks to destroy all those created in the
image of God.
People ask… sciences are you my God?
Money are you my God?
Circumstances are you my God?
Job is it my God?
Doctors, professors, clergy, therapist are they my God?
Husband, wife, girl friend, boy friend are you my God?
Me, my feelings, my thoughts are they my God?
How many people do you know who have been cursed/controlled
by their lifestyle of tobacco, alcohol and/or drugs which is causing them not
only to make bad decisions, but destroying their body and life? These
substances have become a god to them.
How many people do you know who have been cursed by divorce
and adulterous relationships? It’s
not just the spouse that pays but the children as well.
How many people do you know who have been cursed by sexual
sin?
How many people do you know who have been cursed by trusting
in money?
How many people do you know who have been cursed by hatred?
How many people do you know who trust in only what they see
and they are cursed by it? How
many people do you see deeply hurt by the actions of others and they can’t get
past those hurtful actions?
How many people do you see cursed and blinded because they
don’t trust God?
These are examples of false gods/idols in people’s lives. They are saying, “These are my gods. I trust, use, follow, listen to these things
more then God. These things are
what I allow to rule over my life… if they fail me I am without hope because I
choose to trust in mere idols and circumstances then the true living God.”
Let’s read Romans 1.
“Yes they knew God,
but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish
ideas of what God was like. The
result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious,
ever-living God, they worshiped idols make to look like mere people, or birds
and animals and snakes. So God let
them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and
degrading things with each other’s bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God,
they deliberately chose to believe lies.
So they worshipped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who
is to be praised forever. Amen.
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even women turned against the natural
way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And men, instead of having normal
sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men
and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly
deserved. When they refused to
acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things
that should never be done. Their
lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder,
fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent proud, and
boastful. They are forever
inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break
promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do
these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And worse yet, they encourage others to
do them, too.” Romans 1:21-32
Look at the ROOT issue… The root issue is making other
things gods instead of the living true God
be God of their life.
be God of their life.
“A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28
“Cursed are those who
put their trust in mere humans, and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the
desert, with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one
lives.”
Is this not true or what? We allow hurt or loss or the betrayal of a situation to become
our poison. We become stunted,
feel hopeless and feel justified to throw a little pity part. We start living in this bleak mindset where
it seems no one can help us. But
look at the contrast of these following these verses…
“But blessed are those
who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a
riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long
months of drought. Their leaves
stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8
So we must ask ourselves what do we allow to be above God in
our life? What is going to be our
deep and growing and strengthening resolve in life? Are we going to allow
circumstances and situations cause us to turn our hearts away from the LORD?
And if we do turn our hearts away from the LORD, what are we saying is our
god? What God/or god is over this
situation?” we must ask ourselves.
Who am I going to turn to, turn the situation over to, and
trust?
Genesis 1:27 says, “God
created man in His own image, in the image of God; He created him, male and
female he created them.”
Three times in the same sentence it says is “God
created”. If you are created by
God, then you belong to that HIM.
Knowing we belong to the LORD will make a big difference in our life. We can turn our life over to Him our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ. Instead of destructive ways of living,
God will guide us to constructive ways of overcoming. We will grow to know WHO is our strength and shield and He
will bless us because we know we are in need of Him.
“Put on your new
nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”
Colossians 3:10
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