Post by Paddy by Grace on Jan 24, 2010 12:39:14 GMT -7
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Greg Laurie
A poll in which people were asked to assess the Ten Commandments revealed that murder was viewed as the worst thing a person could do, while adultery perhaps wasn't far behind it. Many of those polled, however, said they didn't think idolatry was that big of a deal. But God begs to differ. After all, the first two of the Ten Commandments actually deal with the topic of idolatry.
Idolatry a big deal to God, because if you are not worshiping him, then you will be worshiping someone or something in his place. God cares about being No. 1. Some people are bothered by a God who wants our praise, but the God of the Bible is a jealous God who will not share His glory with another (see Isaiah 42:8).
If you think that is a little paranoid on God's part, consider this: How would you feel if your husband or wife were going out with a different person every night of the week? Would you be good with that? Of course you wouldn't, because when you entered into your marriage relationship, you expected your spouse to be faithful to you. And that is what you should expect.
Yet people will sin against God, reap the consequences, and then get mad at him for letting it happen – as though he somehow did it to them. They will also strike out against God's people.
You could say to someone who is experiencing the consequences of sin, "You know what? A lot of what you are experiencing right now is something you brought on yourself. If you would just turn from your sin ..."
"Who are you to judge me?" they would shoot back. "Who do you think you are? Are you perfect?"
"No, I am not perfect. Not at all. But I just know the Bible."
"Oh, I don't care about the Bible. And you know what? You are a hypocrite, you are judgmental, and you are holier-than-thou. And doesn't the Bible say, 'Judge not lest you be judged'?"
"Well, yes, the Bible does say that but that is actually –"
"I don't care what it says."
The truth is too close for comfort, and they are uncomfortable. We need to turn to God, because the answers to our problems in life are not economic or political; the answers are spiritual. Our answer is to turn to the true and living God, the God we called upon when we founded this nation. I am not saying that every one of our Founding Fathers was a believer in Jesus Christ, but I am saying they had a respect for the Bible, and they invoked the name of Jesus Christ. This nation was built on the clear teachings of Judeo-Christian ethics, and more specifically, the Christian faith. And if we will turn back to the true God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will hear, and he will answer.
The Bible tells us in 2 Kings 7 about a very dark time in the history of Israel, a time that in many ways parallels ours. Things could have not been bleaker. Everything had gone wrong. They had sunk to the lowest depths, and their economy had completely collapsed. A famine had swept the land, and the king was powerless to do anything about it. People were so hungry they were eating what is identified in the King James Version as dove dung.
The problem was sin, and more specifically, idolatry. Israel had abandoned God. Yet God broke in on this difficulty and brought some very good news through the prophet Elisha. Even so, some people were unwilling to believe God's solution, which was a spiritual one.
It is not a bad thing to be skeptical. I think sometimes we can be a little too gullible and a little too willing to believe anything that is said. But having said that, there is a difference between skepticism and unbelief. Skepticism might be a sign that you are thinking and reasoning it out. But unbelief is different. Unbelief says, "I refuse to believe, I choose to not believe what God says."
Yet it is impossible to please God without faith (see Hebrews 11:6). The Bible is replete with stories of men and women who had their lives transformed because they reached out in believing faith and took God at his word.
There was the woman who had a physical condition in which she was constantly bleeding. She had spent all her money on doctors, who couldn't cure her. Then one day, she heard that Jesus was coming by. So she thought, If I can touch the hem of his garment, I believe I will be healed. So here came Jesus with the usual crowd around him. This woman reached out her hand and managed to touch her fingertip to the very tip of his garment. All of the sudden, Jesus stopped and said, "Who touched me?" The crowd parted, and there was the woman. But Jesus didn't want to rebuke or correct her; he wanted to commend her for her great faith. And indeed, she was healed at that very moment because she applied her faith.
Then there was Bartimaeus, a blind man who heard that Jesus was coming by. He cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When one of the disciples tried to quiet him down, he yelled even louder. So Jesus stopped and touched him, and he was healed.
These individuals applied their faith and believed God. And look what God did for them.
What is the challenge, the problem you are facing this year? Will you take God at his word? What is troubling you today? Bring it to God. The Bible says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
Maybe as you have entered into this new year, you have been thinking about things that are troubling you. Maybe it is a vice. Maybe it is an addiction. Maybe it is a certain behavior that has a foothold in your life, and you wonder if you can ever be free from it. New Year's resolutions are worthless, because they don't work. You don't need a resolution – you need a spiritual solution. So take some steps of faith and see what God will do.
There is no sin greater than another. It doesn't matter which one you violate either, every sin carries the same penalty, from the little white lie that you justified to mass murder, ALL carry the same penalty.
Greg Laurie
A poll in which people were asked to assess the Ten Commandments revealed that murder was viewed as the worst thing a person could do, while adultery perhaps wasn't far behind it. Many of those polled, however, said they didn't think idolatry was that big of a deal. But God begs to differ. After all, the first two of the Ten Commandments actually deal with the topic of idolatry.
Idolatry a big deal to God, because if you are not worshiping him, then you will be worshiping someone or something in his place. God cares about being No. 1. Some people are bothered by a God who wants our praise, but the God of the Bible is a jealous God who will not share His glory with another (see Isaiah 42:8).
If you think that is a little paranoid on God's part, consider this: How would you feel if your husband or wife were going out with a different person every night of the week? Would you be good with that? Of course you wouldn't, because when you entered into your marriage relationship, you expected your spouse to be faithful to you. And that is what you should expect.
Yet people will sin against God, reap the consequences, and then get mad at him for letting it happen – as though he somehow did it to them. They will also strike out against God's people.
You could say to someone who is experiencing the consequences of sin, "You know what? A lot of what you are experiencing right now is something you brought on yourself. If you would just turn from your sin ..."
"Who are you to judge me?" they would shoot back. "Who do you think you are? Are you perfect?"
"No, I am not perfect. Not at all. But I just know the Bible."
"Oh, I don't care about the Bible. And you know what? You are a hypocrite, you are judgmental, and you are holier-than-thou. And doesn't the Bible say, 'Judge not lest you be judged'?"
"Well, yes, the Bible does say that but that is actually –"
"I don't care what it says."
The truth is too close for comfort, and they are uncomfortable. We need to turn to God, because the answers to our problems in life are not economic or political; the answers are spiritual. Our answer is to turn to the true and living God, the God we called upon when we founded this nation. I am not saying that every one of our Founding Fathers was a believer in Jesus Christ, but I am saying they had a respect for the Bible, and they invoked the name of Jesus Christ. This nation was built on the clear teachings of Judeo-Christian ethics, and more specifically, the Christian faith. And if we will turn back to the true God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will hear, and he will answer.
The Bible tells us in 2 Kings 7 about a very dark time in the history of Israel, a time that in many ways parallels ours. Things could have not been bleaker. Everything had gone wrong. They had sunk to the lowest depths, and their economy had completely collapsed. A famine had swept the land, and the king was powerless to do anything about it. People were so hungry they were eating what is identified in the King James Version as dove dung.
The problem was sin, and more specifically, idolatry. Israel had abandoned God. Yet God broke in on this difficulty and brought some very good news through the prophet Elisha. Even so, some people were unwilling to believe God's solution, which was a spiritual one.
It is not a bad thing to be skeptical. I think sometimes we can be a little too gullible and a little too willing to believe anything that is said. But having said that, there is a difference between skepticism and unbelief. Skepticism might be a sign that you are thinking and reasoning it out. But unbelief is different. Unbelief says, "I refuse to believe, I choose to not believe what God says."
Yet it is impossible to please God without faith (see Hebrews 11:6). The Bible is replete with stories of men and women who had their lives transformed because they reached out in believing faith and took God at his word.
There was the woman who had a physical condition in which she was constantly bleeding. She had spent all her money on doctors, who couldn't cure her. Then one day, she heard that Jesus was coming by. So she thought, If I can touch the hem of his garment, I believe I will be healed. So here came Jesus with the usual crowd around him. This woman reached out her hand and managed to touch her fingertip to the very tip of his garment. All of the sudden, Jesus stopped and said, "Who touched me?" The crowd parted, and there was the woman. But Jesus didn't want to rebuke or correct her; he wanted to commend her for her great faith. And indeed, she was healed at that very moment because she applied her faith.
Then there was Bartimaeus, a blind man who heard that Jesus was coming by. He cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When one of the disciples tried to quiet him down, he yelled even louder. So Jesus stopped and touched him, and he was healed.
These individuals applied their faith and believed God. And look what God did for them.
What is the challenge, the problem you are facing this year? Will you take God at his word? What is troubling you today? Bring it to God. The Bible says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
Maybe as you have entered into this new year, you have been thinking about things that are troubling you. Maybe it is a vice. Maybe it is an addiction. Maybe it is a certain behavior that has a foothold in your life, and you wonder if you can ever be free from it. New Year's resolutions are worthless, because they don't work. You don't need a resolution – you need a spiritual solution. So take some steps of faith and see what God will do.
There is no sin greater than another. It doesn't matter which one you violate either, every sin carries the same penalty, from the little white lie that you justified to mass murder, ALL carry the same penalty.