Praise the Lord for this Friday. Sunday's coming, when we all have the privilege to gather in the house of the Lord for worship. Praise the Lord for all the days that the Lord gives us to live, to glorify Him, and to enjoy Him. Those who live in the area, please join us for our Television outreach this evening on Time Warner Channel 4 at 7 PM. Tomorrow, Saturday, we will gather at Wesley UMC at 1000 Day Hollow Road at 5:30 PM for food, fellowship, and witness. Jeff Vansyckle will be speaking and sharing his testimony. It is always a great blessing to come together to share the blessings of Christ and His Church.
Praise the Lord for the early Church fathers like St. Augustine, who wrote:
"Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped."
Many people live only for earthly pleasures that cannot satisfy their deepest longings. Millions of people vainly pursue money, fame, power, prestige, or pleasures in futility. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6)
We read in Judges 17 that Micah stole 1,100 piece of silver from his mother and, when he heard her condemning him, he panicked. He was forced to return the money out of fear of being cursed. Micah gave in to his fears of the powers of evil forces.
When the son returned the silver his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the Lord. I wholly dedicate the silver to the Lord for my son to make a graven image." (Judge. 17:3) Micah’s mother responded with a blessing because she was both a thief and an idol worshipper in her heart. She paid the idol maker 200 silver pieces for the idols and gave them to Micah, but kept 900 piece of silver. (In those days, 10 pieces of silver was equal to an entire year’s salary). She went back on her promise to the Lord and gave in to idol worship.
Many people throughout history, have vainly placed their trust in idols. The Greeks used to sacrifice an ox to the god of the flies. The Egyptians worshipped insects, such as beetles. The Phoenicians chained the images of their idols to their altars so their gods would not fly away. Idol worshippers in Rome made charms out of the intestines of sheep. (Just think about that one for a moment). Even Plato, the father of philosophy, thought the stars needed pastures to get their food for nourishment. However, this is not God's design for us. God said, "You shall have no other gods before Me!" (Exodus 20:3) This is a very great commandment.
Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods as the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values -- materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The second commandment deals with idols. This may be something that most of us don't think we can relate to -- unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections, our efforts, and our attention? Where does the majority of our time go? On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?
In Scripture, Micah’s mother failed to teach her son Godly values. She provided a poor example for the entire family. Without Godly parental examples children are likely to seek after some idol to find satisfaction.
In Christ
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC617kE1maU
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