“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved 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 on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” ~Exodus 20:3-6
Good afternoon, everyone! I am very excited at having gotten my sewing machine back from the shop and to start sharing my quilting progress again with you all. The pictures below are snapshots of the baby quilt I am continuing to work on. Stay tuned for the finished project (hopefully soon since the baby came today)! Mom and baby are doing well and are healthy. Praise God!
The post today is about a topic I have been thinking about recently and know that I struggle with this just as much or more than the next person. I want to be upfront in saying that I do not have a degree in theology, but this is my personal thoughts about idolatry today backed up by my Biblical understanding of the Word. I encourage all who read any of my blog posts not to take anything I say as fact or truth, but rather allow these words to strengthen your faith, ask harder questions of what you believe and how you live, and make you dig deeper into the Bible. I would love for you to send your feedback or thoughts on any topic. Click on the contact page above to send me a message or find Quilt Bus on Facebook!
What do we spend most of our time thinking about? What do we spend our money and energy on?
Are these things done to bring glory to ourselves or to God? Idolatry in the Bible is a big source of temptation for us and an offense to God. When we hear the word idol, we think of the golden calf the Israelites worshipped in Exodus 32 or people bowing down to statues. If you are anything like me, you have read the stories of the Israelites and those falling into temptations of worshipping false gods, and wonder how they could do such a blatant act against God. Could they not see the amazing works God had done in their lives? How could they forget so quickly all the miracles He had performed?
But… Before we can judge the Israelites for their actions, we need to take a closer look into our own lives and realize that we are not that different from the Israelites. An idol is anything we place to love or worship above the One true God. Psalm 135: 15-18 says this about idols, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” You can say, “but I haven’t created anything out of silver and gold or place anything above God in my life!?” To this, I would argue that we struggle more with idolatry than we realize. For example: Do we love our children to the point we don’t trust God with His plan for their lives? Do we work so hard for people’s recognition or love that we forget to glorify God? Do we strive to make more money or climb the work ladder for wealth or recognition? Have you placed your personal desires before God’s plan or calling on your life?
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ~Matt 6:24
We can make our spouses, children, jobs, wealth, success, hobbies, physical appearance etc. into an idol. Now, none of these things are inherently bad. We are called to be good stewards with our money and loving wives and husbands; however, we are also called to love and praise God first. Christ said the greatest commandment in the Law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37). He also said in the verse above that we cannot serve two masters. Take a look at the rich young ruler (Matt 19:16-30) who loved money more than following Christ, or the Pharisees throughout the Gospels, who loved their recognition and power more than the truth in Jesus Christ. We wrestle with the same temptations as the men and woman in the Bible did with regards to placing God first.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” ~Col 3:17
If we find areas in our lives that we hold above God, what do we do now? I wish I had a perfect answer, but I still struggle with giving everything to Him. I do know that Christ calls us all to kneel and pray when we are living in sin, and ask for forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Come to God in prayer, and seek the advice and counsel of Christian leaders and friends. If you are uncertain whether you have idols in your life, ask yourself whether you are willing to give everything up if Christ called you today. I am not saying that you would find it easy to do, but that in your heart, you know that if Christ leads you to let something go, He has the perfect plan. God bless you all this week and happy quilting!
Quilt Bus 
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