American Idols

Yesterday I had a very meaningful Jesus time; that's significant for me because it had been a while since I had had a meaningful Jesus time. Ironically, my Jesus time yesterday showed me why I haven't been having meaningful Jesus times. And it's all because of the American Idols.

First, I watched a podcast from Cornerstone Church, and the pastor spoke about how God's people get carried away from focusing on God by idols. He mentioned the Israelites during the Old Testament, the church of Pergamum in Revelation, and Americans today. Last night I read 1 John, and the last thing John says in that book is:

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."

Call it coincidence, but I think God was trying to tell me something about idols in my life.
Something that has been bugging me lately is that I haven't been able to have consistent, meaningful Jesus times. I give myself the time, but it's only sporadically meaningful. What I think God has been showing me lately is that I have many things in my life that are drowning out His voice. I've been giving other things (things that in and of themselves are not bad or evil) more attention than I've been giving God.

These things I am calling American Idols, because I believe that idolatry is still a problem among believers. (Obviously, this problem isn't exclusive to America alone, but I think it's a bigger one here than in other places.) This isn't a recent problem; throughout the Bible you see God's people turn away from Him for idols. What has changed isn't the problem of idolatry, but the forms of it. In the Old Testament, people would worship actual idols. Although we don't worship actual idols now, there are idols out there that can pull us away from God. I am by no means an expert on this, but these are some things I've been learning recently.

I could go on and give an exhaustive list of American Idols, but I will just list some that I am dealing with. A big one to which I have been giving too much attention is the internet. I love reading technology news about new and upcoming gadgets. Too much. I also love seeing if there are new updates on social networks. Too much. Again, they're nothing evil in and of themselves, but if given too much attention, they can impede my ability to connect with God and the discipleship happening around me here at HDC. And when they get in the way of God and those around me, they become idols. American Idols.

Chewin' The Cud

I was listening to a podcast from Francis Chan, and he preached on 2 Peter 1:2:

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

 I completely connect with this verse; a feeling of grace and peace come from a good Jesus time. I don't really want to say much about this verse. It's a good one to chew on for a bit, so I encourage you to do so. Food for thought indeed.

Forgetful

This word describes me, and I don't think it would be a stretch to say this describes alot of people. I know I constantly forget certain things from the Bible that would be good to remember, like Jeremiah 29:11-13, Matthew 6:25ff, Psalm 73:26, Hebrews 12:7, John 15:4, etc. I was listening to a podcast from Cornerstone in Simi Valley, and the speaker said this: "Disobedience is the manifestation of forgetfulness." I find that to be true in  my life, and I think it's true for alot of American Christians. The speaker I was listening to was preaching from Deuteronomy about the tribe of Israel, and how they were told how they need to keep remembering what God did for them so they wouldn't forget and then disobey. I spent a good amount of time over the weekend remembering what all God has done for me, and I recently realized that I had forgotten some truths I had learned about God over the past year. 

In summation, I need to remember not to forget all that God has done and does for me.