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Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas
After the Israelites left Egypt, God told them:
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. (Ex 20:3-5a ESV)
We don’t know when man first turned to idols, but Joshua tells us, “Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Jos 24:2b).
Later, when Jacob took his family back to his homeland, Laban came after them, accusing them of stealing his gods (Ge 31). In Genesis 35, Jacob tells his household to put away all their foreign gods and purify themselves, Then, they go to Bethel to build an altar to the LORD, whom Jacob affirmed had been with him wherever he had gone.
In Egypt, the Israelites were exposed to the gods of the Egyptians, so when God led His people out of slavery, He wanted them to understand there is one God.
The Israelites were constantly tempted to worship the gods of surrounding peoples. It was not until the Babylonian captivity that the Israelites became mono-theistic. That captivity cured them of worshipping idols.
What do we think of when we hear the word “idol”? A simple definition is anything or anyone that we love and desire more than God, our Heavenly Father, our Creator.
Jesus addressed this desire when He said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6).
Most of us know what it is to be hungry and thirsty. Jesus wants us to have that same longing for righteousness.
So, what becomes an idol in our lives? Bowing down to a golden calf is not something most of us do, but is it possible we have other things that take the place of God?
It is sometimes said that there is a “God-shaped hole” in our hearts, and we seek to fill that hole. Satan tempts us to fill that hole with something other than God. People attempt to fill that hole with family, job, money, possessions, and many other things, but only God can give the peace and fulfillment that fills the heart.
When Jesus was talking to His disciples in the upper room, He told them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).
A few minutes later He prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15).
We live in the world, and many things attempt to take our focus off of Jesus, of doing His will, of making Him LORD of our life.
When we hunger and thirst after righteousness, striving to do God’s will, the peace Jesus left will fill our hearts.
In 1772, William Cowper penned the words to “O for a Closer Walk with God.” One of the stanzas reads:
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
We turn our hearts toward God, seeking His righteousness to fill our hearts. Second Chronicles 12:14 says of Rehoboam, “He did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”
The question we need to answer is, “Do I value anything more than my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Redeemer?” If we answer “yes,“ what changes do we need to make so we hunger and thirst for righteousness?
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Written by Liliana Henríquez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colombia
In the previous blog post, I told you that sometimes there are situations or people that we turn into idols that end up occupying God's place in our hearts, our minds, and even our agenda. That's a serious mistake! As Christians, our priority should be God and following Him, not other things.
I am very fond of remembering the promise in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV). God promises us that if we seek Him, He is faithful to give us what we need. The challenge is to understand that the peace and joy that God offers us is far greater than that offered by the world. It is also important to remind ourselves that we need God's support to be able to cope with life's challenges—not something we can do with our own strength.
A job, a husband, children... they will never be able to fill the space that only God can fill.
In June 2023, I received an invitation to support a mission project in another country for a couple of weeks. That really got me excited! However, there was a "small" problem... my passport was expired. What a great frustration! However, I remember that Matthew 6:31-33 came to my mind and gave me strength. I like how it appears in the Easy-to-Read Version:
Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. (ERV, emphasis added)
A relevant fact that I must share is that I am Venezuelan and I live in Colombia. At that time, there was no Venezuelan consulate in all of Colombia, so the only way to get the passport was to go to Venezuela, stay for a month or two there until my passport was ready, and come back. And that definitely wasn't an option for me.
So I, in my conversations with God, asked Him: How am I going to get my passport if there hasn't been a consulate in Colombia for five years?
I answered myself, based on verse 32: Liliana, only those who do not know God try to achieve these things by their own means. Take it easy.
That same month, the first Venezuelan consulate in Colombia opened its doors (Miracle 1). It was located in the city of Cúcuta, which is 16 hours by bus from Bogotá (where I live). I got my appointment very quickly and without difficulty (Miracle 2). I went in August and the whole process was successful. Now all that was left was to hand over the passport. Since the consulate had just started operations, they had not enabled the option of sending the new passport to other cities. So as soon as I was notified that the passport was already printed, I traveled to Cúcuta again to pick it up. In October, I returned home happy with my new passport, ready to be used (Miracle 3).
On that occasion, I confirmed once again that when we obey God, He takes care of providing and opening doors that may have been closed for years. All He asks of us is that we truly commit to Him and make Him our priority.