The Chronicles of Biscuit - A BIG "G"!

The Chronicles of Biscuit - Stories about our youngest son, Tyler, whose nickname is Biscuit.

A few days ago, Biscuit was doing his homework. He was working on vocabulary and the definition was "a building constructed for a god."  The answer/word was 'temple'.

Biscuit said, "Mom God (in the definition) should have a BIG G, not a little g."

I said, "Yes, but remember in the Bible how people worshipped statues and called them a god?  Some people still do."

Biscuit said, "Yes, but they shouldn't!  I'm making it a big G!"  And he did!

I'm so glad that Biscuit has the concept of only ONE GOD and that it should always be a BIG G!  Sadly, throughout the world, many people believe in some other type of "little 'g' god".  A "little 'g' god" that can do NOTHING!  No power.....no hope.....no salvation in eternity.

As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego proclaim when they wouldn't bow down before King Nebuchadnezzer's idol, "WE WILL NOT SERVE YOUR GOD!"

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

I pray that all of you will proclaim that very same thing every day of your life!

Last night we had a missionary talk to us during our midweek worship time.  He talked about growing up in Ethiopia.  His family was Islamic and even his grandfathers were high up in the Islamic faith.  But he met Christians when he was growing up and later realized he wanted to live how they lived - by showing God to others.  He left Islam and converted to Christianity!  He now travels around the U.S. and back to Ethiopia to show God to others!  He loves telling others about Jesus!

No one but God has the power to offer salvation to YOU and ME for living with him in eternity.  No one but GOD sent HIS SON to DIE for you on a cross...where He willingly suffered for our sins.  There is NO OTHER GOD!  I pray you believe that wonderful truth!

What if God was Praised Like Football?

This article came via email yesterday from Elm & Hudson church in Altus.  It makes a GREAT point and could also be used towards other sports, activities, hobbies, etc.  The article was written by Phil Robertson.  Not sure who he is, but I thank him for writing these thoughts. 

For me, I would have to put the Texas Rangers in place of football.....the Rangers and my own children's sporting activities, which includes some football.  It's really hard to not get caught up in something to the point where it takes over too much time, money, and importance in our life.  I'm thankful for this reminder that anything can become an idol when it is put above the Lord

Lori

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A friend of mine recently made this comment, “Around here football is a religion!” At first, his words sounded like an innocent declaration of the passion and allegiance many of us have for our favorite teams. But after a little reflection, his words seemed to burn a hole in my conscience. Is football our religion?

God adamantly warned His people of the dangers of idolatry (Ex. 20:3-6). Their passion for false gods eventually led to their earthly captivity as well as separation from God (Ezek. 20:1-32). We may not have wooden figurines on the mantels of our homes, but that does not mean we may not have our idols.

So, how do we know when we may have crossed the line from sport to idolatry? Please consider the following “what if” scenarios:

 What if we gave as much money to evangelism and charity as we so to tickets, travel and team merchandise? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:25).

 What if we could name the apostles, judges, and great heroes of faith like we can name our team’s starting lineup, reserves, and even recruits?” “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Rom 15:4)

 What if fathers taught their children about the Lord and His works as much as they do about de- fensive formations or strategies of an offensive? “Fathers bring your children up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4)

 What if we proudly displayed our love for the Lord as we do our team’s logos from our homes and cars? “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles and let all the peoples extol Him” (Rom. 15:11)

 What if we arrived early and participated in a worship service with the same dedication we have for crowded football stadiums with limited parking, little legroom and no protection from inclement weather?” “For I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1) (*Note from Lori:  Of course the church is the people, not the building, but we are commanded to come together and worship - to not forsake that meeting together. Interestingly, and sadly, we'll arrive an hour early to a game to get a good seat or even to find a reserved seat, but make it in to worship just in the nick of time.....to get the back row or our "favorite" pew.  Not sure that's how it should be!)

 What if we hated Satan and His schemes to conquer souls as much as we do a rival who is threat- ening to take a game from us? “Be sober because your adversary the devil walks about as a roar- ing lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

 What if the joy of winning souls and the pain of losing souls matched our passion for winning and losing a football game of which we are not even a participant? “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk. 15:10).

The only victory that truly counts has already been won. Jesus conquered death so that we may live in Him (Rom 5:8 and 6:3-7)

—Phil Robertson

Dollar Tree is Sinful?

I posted a funny story about one of our sons the other day, but today I want to tell one about our daughter, Lauren.

Lauren was about five or six years old. She and I - plus her brothers - we were driving down the road in Altus on a Sunday afternoon.  We were close to a Dollar Tree store.  She asked me why in that morning's sermon the preacher had said it was wrong to go to Dollar Tree.  Not sure I was hearing her correctly, I moved the rear view mirror down so that I could see her face as she was talking.  Again she said the same thing, "Why did the preacher say it was wrong to go to Dollar Tree?"

Only then did I realize what she was thinking.  That morning our preacher had talked about the sin of IDOLATRY.  Lauren was only hearing Dollar Tree!  It was so funny, but I didn't want to laugh at her.  I quickly moved the mirror back up so she couldn't see my face, but then went on to explain to her what idolatry meant. This story is funny, but the message that morning about the sin of idolatry isn't funny at all.  It's sin. 

What is idolatry?  Quite simply it is whatever is put in front of God in our lives....whatever we allow to become #1.  If we allow our jobs to become the most important thing in life, then it's become our idol.  We could say the same thing about money, about food, clothing, entertainment, pleasure, and even our families. 

Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.

1 Samuel 12:21

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.  Exodus 20:3-5

As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

1 Corinthians 8:4

Nothing should come between us and God - even Dollar Tree!

American Idol

American Idol is a hugely popular show in America. There are similar shows in other countries, as well. Millions of people watch the show each season rooting for their favorite talent. But, my post isn't about American Idol, the TV show. It couldn't be, because I've never seen it! I wouldn't have a clue what to write! No, my post is really about "idols" in America, as well as other countries all over the world.

Idolatry, the worshipping of idols, has been around for thousands of years. Throughout the Old Testament, we read of the people worshipping golden images, the false gods, Baal and Molech, and about the worship of Asherah, using a carved or molten Asherah pole.

The first and second commandments of the "Ten Commandments" speak about idolatry:

And God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:1-6

Of course, we know that the Ten Commandments were part of the Old Covenant with Israel verses the New Covenant with Christians, but we can still learn from them about how God wants us to live. Plus,
all but one (Sabbath - Colossians 2:16-17) of those principals of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5:21

Nowadays, most people probably do not have carved or golden images around their houses that are worshipped, but idolatry is still alive and well, even today. It may even be present in your life...and in mine. Placing things/people before God at times, makes those things idols in our lives.

How can we tell what might be an idol in our life? By looking at what we allow to take us away from our relationship with God. Ask yourself these questions: What takes me away from Him? What takes me away from worshipping Him? Whatever is in that place is an idol. It is becoming what you worship.

Some thoughts about idolatry:
1. You can tell what you worship by looking at how you spend your time.
2. You can tell what you worship by how you use your money.
3. You can tell what you worship by analyzing what you think about the most.
4. You can tell what you worship by the looking at the entertainment in which you choose to spend your time and money.
5. You can tell what you worship by looking at how you use your talents.

Idols today come in many shapes and sizes. Quite possibly the biggest idol today is the idol of self. Making ourselves an idol takes our focus and our worship away from God and away from Jesus. The one who idolizes self may say these things:

1. I will do what I want to do...no matter what!
2. I'll do it my way and will do what I have to do to get my way!
3. I am the only one that matters.
4. It feels good to me, so it's okay.
5. It seems right to me, so it must be right.
6. If it makes me happy, it's okay.

But, this type of thinking is far from what God's Word teaches. Mark 8:34 says, "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.""

Getting rid of idols in our life may be hard. It will only happen if we take a long, hard look at ourselves and be honest with what we see. We may not like what we see after looking deep inside. We may see too much of self. We may see problems with other things being put before God. We may see idols. But, just as some of the idols of the Bible were destroyed, the idols in our life can be destroyed, as well. With the help of God, we can get rid of them!