The Rocky Road to Wholeness Part 2

We in the West don’t bow down to stone statues or wooden idols. As Protestants we usually even shun icons and images (as found for example in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches—though many find people find these fittings inspiring and helpful. Good music, fine art, nice furniture can be good for a person if we can afford them. But James the brother of Jesus said,

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:1-7)

All manner of iconoclasts are zealots have burned books, paintings, and destroyed buildings — or toppled statues of great persons who are no longer politically correct. None of the items has any inherent power over us but we readily project on things which then ARE idols!

An idol rigorously defined is any person or object in life which where we place our affections, loving that person or thing more than Jesus.

And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD your God, (Yahweh Elohim) who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image--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 nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous (kanna) God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Exodus 20:1-7)

God is a living, self-giving Being much deeper emotionally and spiritually than any of us.

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. “ “This is the first and great commandment. your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:34-39)

But we do collect Teraphim (Household gods) One clue to our addiction is that we collect too many of something: dresses, shirts, sweaters, shoes.

fet·ish

/ˈfediSH/

1.

a form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc.

We once considered that only woman collected more of something they could ever use. Then men went overboard.

All collecting is not idolatry obviously. How about stamp collecting, coin collecting, antique collecting and a dozen other hobbies? I collect books and quite some envious friends are critical of this “hobby” of mine. I can’t give good books away no more ‘cause no one I know reads books. During the sneaker craze I collected athletic shoes—though I don’t play basketball or tennis, don’t jog and don’t hike in the hills. Finally, when streamlining my closets I offloaded about a hundred pairs of sneakers to a friend to be sold on eBay and hopefully supplement his meager income.

I believe this was for me a clear case of hoarding in the same class as “household gods” In the Old Testament (Hebrew: Teraphim (Hebrew: תרף teraph; plural: Hebrew: תרפים teraphim), See 2 Kings 23. Used 15 times in the Hebrew Bible.

But I also have come to believe we Americans are very idolatrous. We are supposed to love God alone (and our neighbor as ourselves) (Matthew 22:36-40)

There is a list in Colossians 3 of things we are supposed to put to death. I worked diligently on Items 1-4 in Colossians 3, but assumed I was not covetousness because I practiced being generous with my time and money. Ha! I was actually self-deceived big time for years!

God called me into account one day by showing me I was covetous to the core. Selfish cravings for more of most everything — when I was not content with what I had already. And I was on autopilot ignoring Jesus.

A trip back to the Cross of Jesus often helps because I now see myself as a chief sinner in need of only two things from God daily: grace and mercy. His grace is more lavish than I ever imagined.

This world is not a friendly place!

"¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.^[b] ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3)

God created mankind to live in fellowship with Him and to enjoy Him in many intimate, personal ways forever. We can only be truly ourselves and truly fulfilled when Jesus Christ holds the place of central importance in our hearts and lives. Any "rival loves" we allow do damage to ourselves, to God, and to others.
Idolatry is the universal human tendency to value something, or someone--anything--in a way that hinders or rivals the love and trust we owe to God. Real idolatry is a matter of what we love and treasure in our hearts that is other-than God. One of the subtlest idols for us is another human being! God is invisible, we would all prefer tangible lovers--it is very easy for any of us to allow any human being to usurp God's rightful place in the throne room of the heart.

Putting God first means loving and trusting God first, above all, and with everything we are and have (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). God has given us every good thing which we are and have. Idolatry occurs because of our deadly propensity for selfish, willful control and for self-controlled security. Satan's lie to Eve, "you shall be like God" has rooted itself into the heart of every man. It was the angel Satan who uttered the "I wills" of the first rebellion against the Creator: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:1-14). Pride follows close on the heels of all human idolatry.

"We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself,and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.“ (1 John 5:18-21)

Until we allow Jesus to occupy the central throne of our lives we’ll probably not be as free as we ought to be.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.“ (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)

Lambert and Friends Interview Series:

Rick Hensley Interview (Audio)

“What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.“ (1 Corinthians 10:19-20)

Lawrence Hoppis Writes:

The true test of qualification in Jesus is whether or not we will be able to "stand" in His judgement. (Psalm 23) This in turn is based on whether or not we are found "hidden in Him" on the last day. "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). What does it actually mean to be "hidden with Christ in God?"

To be hidden with Him means to have come "under the shelter of His wings." We do this when we wholly yield ourselves to Him, confess His truth and live our lives fully in agreement with Him forsaking all other things, and counting ;them as the rubbish that they are. This is the fortress He promises us and that He gives to his children who learn to abide in Him and let His precepts "go before them." (Psalm 119)

Psalm 91

¹Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
²I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
¹²they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

If you experience being hidden this way, it is the great mystery of the kingdom of Christ come into the flesh,

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The Rocky Road to Wholeness Part 2