Idols in the Hearts

This is a difficult time to walk uprightly with the LORD because of the plethora of temptations in our culture everywhere you turn. The world offers so many empty trinkets and allures many into snares for them to fall into sin. The saints need God's grace on a daily basis. 

This verse is a warning to us not to stop striving in our battle against sin:

“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?" - Ez. 14:3

What kinds of idols can we set up in our hearts today that can weaken our resistance causing us to stumble into iniquity? 

• Love scenes from movies replaying in the mind's eye that send the message that adultery and fornication are normal;

• Pondering memories of old lovers from BC days causing desire to resurface for them --many have fallen for this idol in their hearts when they attend their high school reunion;

• The allure of material things -- like expensive cars, motorcycles, pure-bred pets -- that are purchased with money the family needs;

• The idol of fame and fortune and success that prosperity seekers set up in their minds and passionately pursue to their own detriment.

I could go on and on. I think some of us baby-boomers struggle the most with living in the past since our youth is fading. We have a way of glamorizing the good old days -- and though there's nothing wrong with that -- for some it can become obsessive and unhealthy. 

So let's press on and just be conscious of what idols might cause us to stumble as we strive to be pleasing to the LORD in these perilous times.

Keep your eyes on the Prize.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" - 2 Cor 10:3-5

"Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.' And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9:59-62

The Living Word

There is no other book like the Bible. It holds the wisdom of the ages -- kept for us over many centuries, even millennia. Nothing else ever written by the cunning of man compares to it. Any wisdom found in any other book has its origin in the revelation of God to mankind. It is a miraculous book.

In college, I took a class called "The Bible as Literature." It was taught by an aging hippie professor who professed to be an atheist. I kept hammering away at him all semester long with questions aimed at making him think about what he was reading and quoting. 

I would frequently quote parallel passages to point the truth of the passages to him. One day towards the end of the course, he started talking, giving an overview of the semester. As he spoke it's like something hit him square in the eyes, and he was struck by the uniformity of the message from Genesis to Revelation. And exclaimed, "I've never seen that before." The light went on.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Heb 4:12

For those of us who have been quickened by His Holy Spirit, as we read His Word it certainly becomes the "Living Word" to us. These are not simply words written on paper. As we read It, we are often left in awe, brought to tears, inspired to praise the Author. It evokes reverence, humility, love, gratitude, and drives us to our knees. It even instills fear - godly fear - as we look upon the Greatness of our God -- the Creator of all things visible and invisible.

No book ever written can be compared to the Bible. Yet for those who do not have eyes to see and ears to hear, It is academic - just like it was to that Professor -- until the Light comes on.

If you run into a Gideon today -- give them a holy kiss. The Gideons provide the Word of Life to millions and deserve our support.

"The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
- Is 8:13-15

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him."
- Ps. 34:8-9

One-Man Show?

Did you know there is a dearth of sound, solid, uncompromising men teaching the Bible in pulpits today? Not exactly a news flash is it? When a position in the church becomes a career choice, expediency enters in and chokes the Word and quenches Truth.

A friend told me recently that pastors do not accept him into the church because he is a "red-ink Christian." This is not to be confused with a Red-Letter Christian, popularized by heretic Tony Campolo who only reads red letters in his Bible. No, a red-ink Christian is one who edits the pastor's sermon notes to test them by Scripture. One who questions the pastor if he finds him twisting Scripture. Such members of the church are not welcome in very many congregations.

Pray that God would raise up male leadership in these dark times. Ones with the Baptism of Boldness, as Walter Martin used to call it. We need strong men in the church who can and will rally the troops and utilize the gifts in the church to restrain the enemy and reach out to the lost. No one-man show will get the job done.

Did you know that God put His endorsement on His favorite OT male servants? He named those who He would hold up as role-models for men. Missing from that list are David, Solomon, Joseph, Moses, and even Abraham didn't make the cut.

"The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God." - Ez 14:12-14

Pray that God would raise up some Noahs, Daniels, and Jobs. These were all godly men who had no blood on their hands and would not tolerate idolatry. It would behoove every pastor to learn from these three. If they impressed God, think what men today could learn from them.

"Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations." - Ez 14:1-6

"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." - 1 Cor 12:11-114

Crying Wolf

Aren't you glad that Christ has put the Hope of His coming into your hearts? The Bible tells us:

"To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." - Heb 9:28b

We love Him because He first loved us. With that in mind, how can we not be thrilled that He is coming soon to bring about the restoration of all things? Even if that means this world will suffer under the hand of His judgment unless they repent, we can look beyond those unpleasant things to the ultimate end: His return and His Kingdom established on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Those wanting the kingdom without the King strive for success in this life and to fit in with the culture. They scoff at us who are warning the earth dwellers of impending judgment to turn or burn. They tell us no one is listening to us -- we're too negative.

Do these kingdom builders cry out to the LORD for the evil that is all around us? Are their souls vexed within them, like Lot's was as he saw such evil at his doorstep?

We Rapture Ready people are accused of 'crying wolf.' But even in the fable, the wolf finally did show up and no one was ready. 

I do believe that those who are busy chasing after success in this life - even using the name of Christ to realize their dreams - will be overlooked when the rapture does come. God always removed His people before pouring out His wrath -- like the times of Noah and Lot. But the invited guests who can't be bothered from their worldly pursuits, prove they are of this world, not citizens of the one to come.

God would say this to the Osteen-type 'Christians':

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain."
--Psalms 127:1

The biggest mistake we could make now is to get too comfortable here and just get apathetic about the evil all around. We must set our hands to the plow and not look back. We must hate what He hates and love what He loves. It's time to look up and snatch some out of the fire on the way up. 

Maranatha!!

"Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.' To the others He said in my hearing, 'Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.'" - Ez 9:3-5

Scarcity of Role-Models

Are you finding it harder to fit in? Does this world seem more and more foreign to you? Are you perpetually grieved at the rise of wickedness? When you hear of same-sex marriage, abortion, and unmarried couples playing house, do you grieve in your spirit? If you answered 'no' -- you need a spiritual check-up.

We have come to the time when good is called evil; and evil good. Our culture has deteriorated. Godly role-models are scarce. 

Political leaders are apathetic and ho-hum. The true Church cannot point to a single voice in the public eye that represents the LORD and the Truth of Scripture without compromise. 

Even among those who preach Bible prophecy and the coming of the LORD (and they are a dying breed), they join in with enemies of the cross of Christ for the sake of expediency. They linger on the sets of TBN and hold hands with heretics at GodTV, while calling themselves prophets. They warn of harbingers while breaking bread with false prophets.

The LORD has something to say to those compromisers:

"Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the LORD God of hosts will be with you...
Hate evil, love good...
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
For what good is the day of the LORD to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your feast days,
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies."
- Amos 5:14a, 15a, 18-21

Please do not support these compromisers -- but speak up. Those who compromise with evil, God is giving them over to it. God is removing their discernment. They are not to be listened to, lest you be led astray. 

If that means a diminished circle of Bible teachers, so be it. You just may find that it is the ones that are not eloquent in speech or appearance that God's Spirit is leading, not the great speakers who wax eloquently. Even the Apostle Paul put people to sleep when he spoke. As he said,

"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God." - 1 Cor 2:1

Our only defense is to keep on the alert - stay on the lookout for each other -- and know our bibles. Selfish ambition is shutting the eyes of many a spokesman.

Hold onto your crowns!

Love of the World

The biggest threat and danger to our Faith is the love of this world -- worldly pursuits. Jesus spoke of this in the parable of the seeds and soil:

"Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful."

It is a difficult balancing act to put the LORD's concerns above our own. And spiritual apathy is pandemic in the church in this time of the famine of the hearing of the Word of God. At this point in time ALL the virgins are sleeping.

Some of the hardest things to resist that I can think of include:

* Compromising with truth to be acceptable to unsaved family/friends;

* Hiding one's beliefs to fit in at work;

* Falling in love with an unbeliever in hopes of converting him/her;

* Forsaking daily reading of the Word, after all, you've read the entire Bible;

* Justifying sleeping with unmarried lover, after all, 'we love the LORD and each other';

* Giving in to same-sex attraction, 'God made me that way';

* Backsliding into old habits you forsook when you got saved (smoking, drinking, carousing);

* Keeping quiet when Christian friends speak highly of false teachers and not caring enough to warn them.

I do believe that watching for the signs of His appearing and getting excited about His coming does indeed help with our sanctification. This is an advantage we have over those who are preterists and post-mils and a-mils. 

Let's keep on eagerly awaiting the Time of our Visitation and hold onto our crowns!!

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”" - Luke 21:34-36

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. " - Col 3:1-7

God is our Provider

God is our Provider. We might not always recognize His provision, but sometimes He makes it very clear. I write this from a hotel room in my new town 2,000 miles away from the last place He assigned me to. We sold our house and headed out on closing day without a place to go.

Getting the right rental house here was not an easy task. I needed a place to accomodate four adults and one four-year-old. I found out quickly that rentals controlled by property management companies required a background check and credit check on each adult resident. And they charge anywhere from $25 to $50 per adult - a sum we were expected to pay upfront without any guarantee of a rental.

So I focused on owner rentals and spent a couple of days looking at those and what a disappointment. Most were run-down and in bad neighborhoods or directly next to a high school with students coming and going. The only place that looked custom fit for us, even at a lower price than the others was already spoken for. I was so disappointed as none of the available properties stood up to that one in an ideal location, blocks from where our rental truck was parked at the Wal-Mart, a walk-out basement with a bedroom for my married daughter, husband and granddaughter, an office for me with a mountain/lake view, a playground across the street and within a mile from our new church.

I was about to give up and just put all our stuff into storage and the phone rang. The owner called me back from my number that her smart phone saved and told me those she was going to rent to backed out at the last minute. That, folks, is a God-thing!

We are signing the rental agreement in the morning and moving in on Wednesday.

And all your prayers, I am convinced, made the difference. Taking our needs colectively to our Provider brings results. All the praise to our LORD Jesus. I anxiously await His assignment for me in this new place.

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever...
He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!"
-- Ps 107-1, 29-31

"The LORD upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
-- Ps. 145:14-18