Saturday - Week 4

Reread the story of Martha and Mary:

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'

'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Luke 10:38-42

Meditate on these words from Jesus: "Mary has chosen what is better."

There is a better choice we can make every single day when we choose to make our relationship with God more important than anything. 

Friday - Week 4

The god of power often manifests in personal achievement—records we chase and accolades we receive. And the  gods of power give us convenient ways to keep score: titles after our name, increase in wages, the square footage of a new home, or some sort of public recognition. This recognition seemed to be the motive behind the rich young ruler coming to Jesus as described in Luke 18. He wanted commendation for how well he had lived. After all, he was a man who had accomplished, achieved, and accumulated. He was the very definition of worldly success. There  is nothing wrong with his success, unless those achievements were the things he was living for.

The god of achievement distracts us from following Jesus by reminding us with all the things that need to be done. How often do we live with good intentions of spending time with Jesus and turning our heart toward him only to find at the end of the day that's the one thing on our checklist that we never got around to?

How has your life up to now been defined by achievement?

Why do you work as hard as you do?

When do you feel the most guilty or self-critical?

Do you hate feeling unproductive?

The best way to counter the drive to achieve is simply to…"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Stilling our bodies and focusing not on what we are doing or need to do but on what God has done and is doing in our lives quiets that voice within us that pushes us on. The check list will wait. The accolades aren't the most important thing. Involving ourselves in the things of God is:

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

Thursday - Week 4

How often do you compare what you have and how much you make to others?

Do you develop resentment when you feel you're worth more than you are paid?

How much anxiety do finances add to your life?

What is your attitude toward giving?

These sorts of questions reveal whether the god of power in the form of money has infiltrated the throne room of our hearts. The Bible talks regularly about money because throughout time, money equals power. Money means control. It means we can dictate how our lives are lived and the quality of them. Too often the pursuit of happiness often means the pursuit of money. Yet we fail to acknowledge one important fact:  "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1). When we approach money from the perspective that it belongs to us, it turns into something that it is not. They key to keeping money in its right place is to remember that it all belongs to God. Whatever we have is on loan from God.

And when we begin worrying about the things of this world, becoming obsessed with money and the security it brings, then it has become a god for us. Look around and you will see this to be true for a lot of people: Capitalism is religion. Banks are churches. Bankers are priests. Wealth is heaven. Poverty is hell. Rich people are saints. Poor people are sinners. Commodities are blessings. Money is God. The biblical authors consistently portray money as God's chief competition. Jesus' solution is simple:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Close your time with this prayer:

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say,

'Who is the Lord?'

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God." Proverbs 30:8-9

Wednesday - Week 4

What is your definition of success?

How do you know when you have attained it?

The world defines success as being self-sufficient and self-reliant—acting as if you have it all figured out. But Jesus challenges this notion. Read over the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-12.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

What characteristics epitomize the ones who are blessed and happy (we might say successful) in God's kingdom?

In God's economy, success only comes when we declare spiritual bankruptcy. Biblical success is hearing God say to you one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant." God measures success by faithfulness and our obedience to Scripture. How do you think God would measure your success?

Tuesday - Week 4

The god of power invites you to save yourself instead of depending upon Jesus to do it. This is one of the reasons that the most successful of people often have the hardest of times becoming followers of Christ. Being a devoted disciple means they must acknowledge their own helplessness and their ultimate need—the need for rescue. It is not easy for a successful person to admit the need for help.

This world puts the emphasis on being self-sufficient and self-reliant, acting as if we've got it all figured out. But Jesus redefines power as one who humbly says to God, "I can't do this on my own. I need your help." From the world's perspective, that's the opposite of what powerful people do. Jesus takes power and turns it upside down. We think that power is about being the king of the hill. Jesus points to the downtrodden, humble, and pure-hearted who refuse to play the world's game as the powerful ones.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Boasting in our weaknesses seems so foreign to us. For some people, the idea of standing before God without an impressive resume is unthinkable. We want to show him our success and prove our worth. But to God, success is precisely the opposite of that. It's being willing to step away from all the stuff, all the achievements, and say, "None of that means a thing to me, Lord. I lay it all before you; you and only you are my success." The gods of power want us to believe that our significance comes from what we make of ourselves. But we find our true identity in Christ. He has marked us as his own, and that's what makes us valuable. That's where our value is found. He forever determined our value when he died on the cross for us. 

Monday - Week 4

Monday

The god of power has no problem finding followers. He is attractive, compelling, and charismatic. He walks into your everyday, rat-race world and shows you what life could be like at the top of the heap. And what he is selling is hard to ignore. It's a line as old as the Garden of Eden—you can be like God. He offers us the applause and envy that makes life sweet. He plays on the most basic problem of humanity—pride. Pride is the pull of doing it our way. It is the same attitude that Obadiah warned the Edomites about:

"The pride of your heart has deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocks

and make your home on the heights,

you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?'" (Obadiah 3)

But in our culture, pride is often a virtue: "Take pride in your heritage. Take pride in what you have accomplished." And when pride drives you too hard for your own good it could make you arrogant and contemptuous of others. When pride becomes self-importance and smugness the god of power has fooled you into thinking that you are more than you are.

How do you view yourself? Humbly? Better than others?

How often do you compare yourself to others?

What do you think your motivation is behind such actions?

Saturday- Week 3

Never in the history of humanity has there been so much pleasure and so little satisfaction. Over 1500 years ago Augustine had it right: "Our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee."

We were made for God, and until he is our greatest pleasure, all the other pleasures of this life will lead to emptiness.

The more vibrant our inner lives are, the less we need from the outside. The more active we are in worshipping God in Spirit and in truth the less we need to fall back on external pleasures and other input.

Consider this:

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'" Acts 17:24-28a

Are you finding your very life and being in God? If not, then perhaps it is time to distance yourself from the things that are taking you away from him.

Spend some time reading over Psalm 37. Write down the strong verb words (Trust, Delight, Commit, etc.). How well are you accomplishing these things?

Friday - Week 3

It would not be hard to make a case that our cultural obsession with entertainment is essentially a surrogate religion. Take sports for example. Its temples are the great stadiums that are sacred ground to many. Its priests are in the zebra stripes. Its gods wear their names on the back of their jerseys. Its liturgy are fan chants. Its sacrifices are the vast amounts of money that fans pay for tickets and team gear and time that fans devote to tailgating, the actual game, and the post game celebration.

But the god of sports isn't the only entertainment deity. How about he world of celebrities and the incredible amount of attention that people devote to showbiz couples and activities.

We are so invested in the lives of stars, athletes and teams that we are distracted from their own lives. Have we gone from watching to worshipping? Think I am using hyperbole? Consider the following:

Around what does everything orbit in your life?

What are the locked in dates in your calendar?

What are the essential items in your budget?

Are you obsessed with an upcoming game/episode/event/activity?

Before we become too legalistic, we need to remind our selves that entertainment is a gift from God. How can we not be entertained by God's creation? Entertainment can be rest for the mind and emotions. After all, Paul says,

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17

The problem is that we make entertainment the main event instead of just the side show. We look for the meaning of life in Hollywood instead of Heaven. But entertainment will never satisfy. What we find is that it is just a chasing after the wind.

I challenge you to eliminate God's competition and see what happens. Turn off the TV. Log off Facebook. Turn down the music. Unplug the game console. Turn your eyes on the Lord. 

Thursday - Week 3

Sex seems to be so taboo in church circles. Yet it pervades our society. "Sex sells" as they say. Sadly, the church has retreated into itself and avoids discussing sex at all costs. But sex is a gift from God. It was God's idea to intimately connect us to a spouse: "A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Sex, done God's way, can create a supernatural bond between spouses. One of the Hebrew words for sex, translated literally, means "a mingling of souls." That captures it perfectly—sex is a beautiful gift from God.

Sex is beautiful until it loses its spiritual context. Some of the richest and most beautiful gifts from God are often the same gifts that are twisted into hideous and destructive idols. It becomes lust and selfish pleasure. There is a terrible but telling story found in the Old Testament. Read 2 Samuel 13:1-21.

Look again at verse 2. Literally the text says that Amnon became "obsessed" with his half sister Tamar. Obsession is an idolatry word. Amnon was constantly thinking about and focusing on one image in his mind—one possibility. He allowed this fantasy to fill his heart until he made himself sick with lust. And so he raped Tamer, bringing about incredible destruction upon himself (verse 15 says he hated her after he did this act), upon his sister (he stole her virginity and her honor), his family (Tamar's brother Absalom engaged in revenge killing), and his nation (they were torn apart right along with the royal family).

When we worship sex as a god, we find that it leads to the exact opposite of its divine design as a gift:

As a gift it brings connection; as a god it causes loneliness.

As a gift it brings pleasure; as a god it leads to emptiness.

As a gift it brings satisfaction; as a god it demands slavery.

As a gift it brings intimacy; as a god, separation.

As a gift it brings unity; as a god it often causes divorce.

So consider: How well do you control your thought life? Do you get caught daydreaming lustfully?

What might be lacking in your intimacy with God? 

Wednesday - Week 3

In Scriptures, food always begins as a gift from heaven. Eating is good. It is not idolatry to enjoy a great meal. The problem comes when we start to look to food to do for us what the Lord God alone should. When food becomes our source of comfort we have exchanged God for the idol of food. Or if we have a hunger for more and more so that we become consumed with consuming, God has been removed from the throne of our hearts. Listen to what Jesus suggests:

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval…Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:27, 35

Jesus wants us to have a great passion for filling our souls than we do for filling our stomachs. Jesus can fill and nourish better than empty carbs and sugars. When we come to Jesus looking for something to eat, he offers himself. Is he enough?

Consider these questions:

Do you eat more for pleasure or nourishment?

When and why do you overindulge?

Would you be willing to fast? (One of the easiest ways to gauge the power that the god of food has over you is to fast—not to diet but to rely fully on God)

Meditate on these verses:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"

Matthew 6:25

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6

Tuesday - Week 3

In order to identify if there is a god of pleasure in your life, these two diagnostic questions are helpful:

Where do you go first? Where do you go most?

To help illustrate, let's look at the life of David. David was at his all time low. He pursued pleasure at all costs, and in the pursuit of pleasure he committed adultery and then murder to cover up the adultery. He thought he had gotten away with all of this without any consequences. But when confronted by Nathan the prophet David felt great remorse for his action and radically repented. He knew he was guilty and made aggressive changes in his life and restarted pursing God. Look at his response:

"After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, 'While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.'

David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. 'Is the child dead? he asked.  'Yes,' they replied, 'he is dead.'

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His servants asked him, 'Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!'

He answered, 'While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.'” 2 Samuel 12:15-23

When David faced disappointment, when David faced despair, he went to God first and he went to God again. He could have sought comfort in other pleasures, but he chose God. How about you? Where do you go first? Where do you go most?

Monday - Week 3

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." 1 Timothy 4:4

"Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart.

Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!

Dress festively every morning. Don't skimp on colors and scarves.

Relish life with the spouse you love.

Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift.

It's all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive.

Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it!"

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 (MSG)

Have you ever thought about the place of pleasure in modern life? For many, pleasure has become the whole theme of daily living. These days, if it isn't fun and if it isn't pleasurable then we don't want to do it. We even expect our daily work to be pleasurable. In our postindustrial society, our survival needs are met. We have more leisure time and more money to spend on it than past generations. And while it seems like we are busier than ever and more in debt than ever, quite often we are spending that time and money chasing pleasure.

When we experience pleasure there is a part of us that thinks, "Yes! This is what I was made for." Even if you haven't experienced much pleasure in your life, you've experienced enough to know that you want more. Thus begins the quest for the elusive narcotic of pleasure in whatever form most pleases us—food, sex, mind altering substances, entertainment, and more. And when we pursue pleasure over anything else, the end result is always pain in the form of separation from God and from others.

Pleasure has this unique trait: the more intensely you chase it, the less likely you are to catch it. Food becomes insatiable hunger; sex becomes shame; entertainment becomes restless boredom; substances become addiction. Instead of inspiring our bored and apathetic existence, the god of pleasure makes us even more that way. When pleasure replaces God we are left constantly wanting more and never being filled.

Saturday

We have spent a good deal of time identifying the gods that are warring for our hearts. Now it is time to start working on guarding our hearts. In Sam's sermon from Sunday he identified some practical ways that you could guard your heart. Read over them again. Brainstorm a few ways that you could be proactive and work to set up a good defense of your heart.

Accountability

James states that when we confess our sins to one another we will be healed. Deeper accountability comes when we allow someone to see our hearts. Do you have someone in your life that is going through this journey with you? Encouraging, challenging, and helping you?

Prayer

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to pray when you are not guarding your heart? In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul says to pray about everything with thanksgiving. The result? The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. There is an unexplainable power in prayer. Are you experiencing that power?

Scripture Meditation

It’s not just about what we guard our hearts from; it’s what we open up our hearts to. The psalmist prayed, " I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). Have you kept God's Word in your heart?

Practice Holy Thinking

Paul finishes Philippians with this thought: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things”  (Philippians 4:8). We are constantly googling and surfing the net or watching 24 hour news and flipping through hundreds of other channels and almost none of it is noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Taking time everyday to think about things that are pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy will guard your heart. 

Friday

Imagine a kingly throne. The throne is the seat of control in a realm. It is where the king makes decisions and charts the course for the kingdom. Now imagine that this throne is located not in a castle but in your heart. In the Hebrew culture, the heart was a metaphor for the center or the core of a person. Thus, whoever sits on the throne of your heart rules your life.

Something we need to understand is that Only God is King. And this God is the creator, sustainer, and consummator of all that has being. And he tolerates no rivals. This one who claims us insists upon being the One who alone may sit on the throne. There are to be no rivals; there is to be no divided reality. Perhaps this imagery casts a different light on the following proverb: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Above all else…

Your heart is your most valuable spiritual asset thus is your greatest priority.

…guard your heart…

This word, "guard," means to diligently protect against the enemy. When your guard is up, you aren’t passive. You are pro-active. Paul agrees that the best defense is a good offense:

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

…for it is the wellspring of life

Another translation says, "Everything flows from it." Or as Proverbs 27:19 says, "As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man." The heart is the truth of your identity; that’s why the gods fight so fiercely for every inch of it.

The gods are at war and their strength is not to be underestimated. These gods clash for the throne of your heart, and much is at stake. Everything about you, everything you do, every relationship you have, everything you hope or dream or wish to become depends on what god wins that war.

On Saturday of last week, you took a good look at your heart. What did you find? What does the condition of your heart say about you as a person? In other words, what does your heart "reflect"? 

Thursday

Option 4: God alone

"Throw away the gods…and serve the Lord…As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

"Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.'" 1 Kings 18:21

The final option…has really been the only option all along. While the others may look promising, they do nothing to satisfy our thirst. Joshua makes it clear that Yahweh had been working powerfully among them—redeeming, protecting, guiding, and providing. So the obvious question for the people to ask of these gods was, "What have you ever done for us?"

And when we make our own choice, we should ask ourselves the same. What enduring value has the god of wealth really brought anyone? Did the gods of pleasure ever deliver true and lasting happiness? Even just once? Can the gods of sex provide a joy that is more than that of a passing moment? What have these gods done for us? If anything they have enslaved us. They have robbed us. They have disappointed us.

Wealth, fame, power, pleasure, and accomplishment don't provide ultimate fulfillment. God has brought us all we need. God is the source of our forgiveness, fulfillment, hope, joy and peace. Until we realize that God has done enough we will continue to return to other gods.

Look back over your answers from earlier this week. Can you trace in your life where those gods you followed have failed you? Can you see a pattern in your life of choosing poorly?

Meditate on Psalm 86:8—"Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours." 

Wednesday

Option 3: Your Culture

"…the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living."

Joshua gives this challenge after the Israelites had conquered the Canaanite people. These people were pushed back, overcome, conquered, yet continued to be a thorn in the Israel's side for the rest of the Old Testament. What is worse, their gods were a constant temptation for the Israelites. These gods had home field advantage, so to speak. They were indigenous and deeply rooted in the society. The Israelites encountered them at every turn. The worship of these gods was so ingrained that it seemed natural and harmless.

And we face the gods of or culture every day. There are many that are hiding in plain sight that we often don't recognize because they're so common. Paul's advice to the early Christians remains true for us: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2a). The pattern of this world is describing the gods of this age. To "go with the flow" is to be squeezed into the mold of the world around us.

What would you say are the chief gods of our culture?

How can you confront these gods by "renewing your mind"?

Tuesday

In Joshua 24, Joshua calls the people to choose and he gives 4 options. Think of these 4 options as points on a compass. Because whatever you choose is going to lead you in a different direction. Each category has to do with a time and a place in life. For the next 3 days, think about which direction you have been heading.

***Disclaimer: Today is a little longer than usual, but the concepts are connected so I thought it best to combine them.

Option 1: The gods of your upbringing

"…the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River…"

Long before God spoke to Abraham and made a covenant with him, the ancestors of Abraham worshiped the gods of Mesopotamia. In that region there was a god for every conceivable purpose. In fact, Abraham's father was an idol worshiper. Belief in these gods persisted even after the rise of the Hebrew people, through the time of Egyptian slavery, and up to Joshua's era. And now Joshua wants to know if they are simply going to default to the gods of their forefathers.

We were raised and we raise the next generation based on faith—or the lack thereof. Idols are raised in our homes teaching who or what is worthy of our worship. We often end up worshiping whatever god they worshiped. The "law of exposure" suggests that our lives are determined by our thoughts, and our thoughts are determined by what we are expose to. Our minds absorb and our lives ultimately reflect what ever we are most frequently exposed to. It should be surprising then that we have a tendency to worship the gods of our fathers and mothers.

Think about how this is true for you and the family you were brought up in. Is it possible that the gods that are at war in your life are the same gods your parents and grandparents worshiped when you were younger? Did your dad worship sports, a job, sex, money, status,  or beer? Did your mom worship shopping, career, children, entertainment, or appearances? Don't just skip over these examples. Think about what was held up for you in the home you grew up in.

What would you say are some of the gods of the family in which you were raised? What were the things that were held up as most important?

The most natural path in the world is to adopt the gods of our parents. Perhaps it is time to take a different path.

Option 2: The gods of your past

"…the gods your forefathers worshiped…in Egypt…"

Joshua specifically mentions the gods from the time of slavery in Egypt. These were the gods of the previous generation. These were the gods of their past that never went away. Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians had a diverse and highly developed pantheon of deities. They worshiped nearly everything, including sun, moon, and stars. And since the Hebrews were Egyptian slaves longer than the US has been a nation, there is no way that they were going to endure that period without absorbing some of the culture around them. Old habits, including old worship patterns, die hard. Even while traveling to the Promised Land the people wished they could go back to Egypt (Exodus 16:2-3; 32:1-3). Even 700 years after the Exodus from Egypt, Ezekiel had this to say to them: "Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt" (Ezekiel 20:7). Even after experiencing salvation they just couldn't let go of their pasts.

It happens to Christians too. We invite Jesus to come into our lives—to take the throne of our hearts. Everything is great, but then we find our baggage has come with us. Stuff that should have been destroyed a long time ago managed to come along for the ride. Old desires, old habits, old addictions make an appearance in our new lives. The problem is not that we need to choose to follow Jesus; the problem is that we have tried to follow him without leaving something behind. Old gods die hard.

Do you ever find yourself struggling with things from the past that you thought you had left behind a long time ago?

What do you need to do to rid yourself of them for good?

Monday

Last week we found that we all worship something whether we realize it or not. Hopefully on Saturday you were able to begin identifying the things that you are prone to seek after other than God. This week we will view this topic from God's perspective. Look at these commandments to the Israelites:

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:4-6

"Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Exodus 34:14

"Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:23-24

What is the common theme of these verses?

How is God's jealousy different than our petty jealousy?

God's Jealousy shows worth and value to us. God is "upset" because he has something so much greater in store for us, but we choose something inferior. Like a dog drinking out of the toilet and saying, "This is the life" we choose something nasty and inferior when we could be enjoying the living water that Christ offers. God wants only the best for us, and when we choose to reject that, God becomes upset—not because he is offended in a petty way, but because we are selling ourselves short.

And so these commandments are about ultimacy—what is the ultimate in your life? 

Saturday

Saturday

As we begin this study, it is important to identify the gods at war for your heart. Take some time and really think about these diagnostic questions. Don't just jot down the first thing that comes to mind. Really ponder your hidden motives and desires.

What we are most disappointed with often reveals where we have put our hope. Where we put our hope reveals our god. So, what are you most disappointed with?

The word “serve” appears seven times in Joshua’s speech in Joshua 24. Who or what you serve is revealed by how you spend your time and money. What do you sacrifice your time and money on?  What do your expenditures represent? For example, if you have a large mortgage it might represent the desire to win the respect of others or a need to prove to someone that you are successful. If you spend a lot of time watching TV or doing some other activity, it might represent a desire for comfort or an avoidance of your mate.

Henry Blackaby suggests that what we turn to first—before God—is an idol. Most people feel like they are under constant stress and stress demands comfort. Where we go when we are hurt creates an honest moment of worship. Where do you go when you’re hurt? Where do you go for comfort?

Scripture reminds you not to worry and to cast all your anxieties on God because he care for you. (1 Peter 5:7). Can you release these concerns to God before going to sleep? Why or why not? What do you worry about? What scares you? What do you obsess about protecting? What are you terrified of losing? What keeps you awake at night? On the flip side, do you have recurring dreams or nightmares about something?

What do you dream of? What excites you? What are you passionate about? Be careful to note your real dreams, not what you think you "ought to be" dreaming about.

Friday

Too often we deal with symptoms rather than the root problem. For example, when we have an issue with eating too much we rid the house of the foods that might cause us to binge. If we have an anger problem, we count to ten. If you have a cursing problem, you get a swear jar. But those "solutions" are like taking aspirin when you have a headache. They might deal with some of the symptoms but don't get at the underlying problem. The root problem is idolatry. Until that god is dethroned and the Lord God takes his rightful place, you will not have victory.

What if idolatry is not about statues? What if the gods of here and now are not cosmic deities with strange names? What if they take identities that are so ordinary that we don't recognize them as gods at all? What if we do our "kneeling" and our "bowing" with our imaginations, our checkbooks, our search engines, and our calendars? What if every sin that you are struggling with, every discouragement you are dealing with, and even the lack of purpose you're living with are because of idolatry?

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 4:22-24; 5:1-2

What are some cultural idols that you see around you? Another way of asking this would be, "What is held up and pursued? What is glorified and honored?"

What are things that we look to as a source of power, control, and safety? In other words, what do we try to replace God with in our lives?

Thursday

"The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold. They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating ox!" Psalm 106:19-20 (NLT)

These verses indicate that the Israelites traded something great for some knock off. They settled for less.

We are like them. Or perhaps, we may be worse. We cover all of our bases like the people of the ancient Near East did. The Israelites also hedged their bets by looking to multiple sources for sustaining them. A verse found in 2 Kings describes this dichotomy perfectly: "The people honored the Lord but also served their own gods, just as the nations did from which they had been brought."

2 Kings 17:33 (NCV)

While we might say that we are devoted to God, perhaps we are guilty of honoring God while also serving other things. We split our worship, our trust, and our faith between God and other things.

When it comes to your relationship with God, where in your life have you settled? Where have you turned to something else to fill you rather than God?

Don't worry if you don't have a really good answer to this question yet. That's the point of this series!

Wednesday

Why do you think God has such an issue with idolatry?

Clearly, God is the only one worthy of our worship. He was the only one worthy of our full allegiance. God claims our lives as this one who is incomparable, as power and presence unprecedented, as at once fearsome and loving, causing us to draw back in holy dread lest we be destroyed, and also impelling us forward into yet closer association and communion. But there is more to it than that. Listen to how Genesis talks about a different kind of idol:

Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27

What does it mean to be made in the image of God?

How does this image impact the way we live, the things we say, and the things we pursue?

When God declared “let us make humans in our image” He was, in a very real sense, creating "living idols." Because no image can fully represent God, you and I are supposed to represent God. Human beings are the closest of all the creatures of the earth to God the Creator. There is only one kind of representation of deity: the representation provided by a faithful human community bent on doing God's will on earth. When the people of Israel were faithful to the God of the covenant, then God had the right kind of representative on earth. And nothing else was needed.

And so we, the human race, created in God's image, become divine image-bearers. That's what Paul says in Colossians 3: "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Colossians 3:9-10

We don't have images of God because We are the image of the Creator when we live the right kind of life. We were created to be beacons of His glory in the midst of creation—created as reflections of the divine presence.

Tuesday

Idolatry is the number one issue in the Bible. Idolatry makes its way into every book. More than 50 of the laws in the first 5 books are aimed at this issue. In the Bible there is no more serious charge than that of idolatry. Idolatry called for the strictest punishment, elicited the most disdainful denunciation, prompted the most extreme measures of avoidance and was regarded as the chief identifying characteristic of those who were the very antithesis of the people of God. The first 2 commandments focus on this issue:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them." Exodus 20:2-5a

How would you define "idolatry"?

Here's how I define it: Idolatry is a perversion of worship. Idolatry values something or someone in a way that hinders or rivals the love and trust we owe to God. Idolatry is the ultimate expression of unfaithfulness to God. The first commandment, then, is the commandment that takes the reality of God seriously: as creator of the universe, as the sustainer of all beings, and as the one worthy of our worship. God will tolerate no rivals because none deserve to be on God's level.

Monday

The Israelites were surrounded by other deities. They had more gods than they could count or keep track of. Read just a sampling from Judges 10:6: "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines." Judges 10:6

Have you ever wondered why there were so many gods? Why they didn't just find one and stick with it? Why they felt the need to "play the field" so to speak? Imagine living in a world where you did not know where your  next meal would come from. You didn't know if the rain was going to come and water your crops. You didn't know if your cows would survive a drought. You didn't know if your sheep would breed. You didn't know if your goats would give milk. You didn't know if the streams would dry up in the heat of the summer sun. What would you do? If we are talking about 3000 years ago, you would harness every possible power. And for them, the powers that were available were found in the gods. So you would sacrifice to the fertility gods to make sure that you would have kids and your crops grew. You would pray to the storm god to make sure it rained. And on and on it would go. You would make sure that every possible angle was covered and every possible god was appeased. Idolatry is about control and power.

It may sound old and silly, but we do the same things. If you have a stock portfolio, what do you do? You diversify so if one or more does poorly you have others that will hopefully pick up the slack. We like to make sure that we are in control and that we are not surprised or caught off guard by circumstances—just like the ancient world—even if the methods we use have changed. It revolves around power and trust. And it is into this context that God speaks his first command: "You shall have no other gods before me."