We must REMOVE every IDOL from our HEARTS!
August 30
Bible Reading: Ezekiel Chapters 13-15
We must REMOVE every IDOL from our HEARTS!
"Now some of the elders of Israel came
to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son
of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them
that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be
inquired of at all by them?" (Ezek. 14:1-3)
The first
two of the Ten Commandments deal with
the issue of idols. The first commandment says, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3),
while the second commandment says, "You
shall not make for yourself a carved image—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 nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God" (verse 4).
In the above
passage, God is telling His prophet Ezekiel that the elders of Israel who have
come to seek God had idols in their hearts. These people had other items of
importance before the true and living
Jehovah God, and God was certainly not at
all pleased with their setting of priorities. In fact, God’s people struggled
with idolatry in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament we see believers
warned not to have idols!
Idols in our
hearts can cause God to refuse to listen to our prayers. An idol is anything (or anyone) that takes the place of God in our
lives. Clearly, this is sinful but it can evolve from our common daily
activities and priorities. For example, we can make an idol out of our career. There is nothing wrong with having
a career, but if it is more important than God, then it has become an idol. We
can make an idol out of an earthly relationship.
However, if this relationship (spouse, children, etc.) is more important than
God, then it becomes an idol in our lives. We can also make an idol out of money. We can make an idol out of our gadgets and possessions. We can make an idol out of just about anything in our
lives. Let us clearly understand that if
we have idols in our hearts, then God will not hear us!
Many people
have secret idols hidden in the chambers of their hearts from the sight of men.
However, they cannot hide them God for God can look right into their hearts (1
Samuel 16:7). "And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes
of Him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13) The moment the affection
meant for God is given to any other thing or person, that substitute becomes an
idol.
Nowadays, we
have a lot of modern-day idols that people worship, and these idols keep them
away from God. They include the following: self, education, home, family, friends,
clothes, money, job, career, pleasure, hobbies, internet, social networking
tools, television, gym, and even religious activities, etc. Let none of the
above take the place of God in our lives!
Today, let
us give our heart completely to Jesus & break every idol from our hearts.
Let the light of God shine into our lives. We need to examine ourselves to
check if we are still strong in the faith (2 Cor. 13: 5). Let us discard those
things which take us away from God and distract our hearts and minds. We must
remove every idol from our hearts in the light of God’s Word today!
