Tag Archives: priorities

Modern Idols – Deuteronomy 5

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Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands (Deuteronomy 5:7-10, CSB; the first and second commandments of the Ten Commandments).

The first two commandments of the Ten Commandments address the worship of God. The first commands us to worship only the one true God and the second commands us to worship God in the correct way (or avoid idolatry).

The word “worship” is related to the idea of ascribing worth to something. We worship what we think is worthy or important.

What you think is important is a priority in your life. It’s what you idolize. And, it’s what you worship.

The litmus test of a priority is what you spend your time and money on. And, what you spend your time and money on is likely what you talk and think about. So, the things that are really important to you are those things you spend your time and money doing and talking and thinking about.

In this world the use of time and money is frankly a zero-sum game—whatever time or money you spend on one priority reduces the time and money spent on another priority. If you work late every night, then you don’t get to spend time with your family and you don’t get enough sleep.

In the age in which we live, there are many, many things to spend our time and money on. And when these other things occupy more of our time and attention than worshiping the one, true God, they can lead us into idolatry and disobeying the second commandment.

Modern idolatry doesn’t take the form of making “graven images” to worship. No, modern idolatry takes a much more subtle form. Modern idols are such things as the pursuit of money and wealth, seeking power and control, a passion for entertainment and hobbies, a reliance on comfort and security, focusing on our appearance and self-image, and devoting an inordinate amount of time to social media and technology.

But, the metrics are fairly straightforward for determining if there’s idolatry in your life. Check your calendar and bank account. What do you spend your time and money on?

Then, take out your spiritual tape measure and determine how much of your time and money and what you think about is spent on the gospel of Christ?

How do they compare?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2, CSB)

What’s Really Important – Matthew 6:19-21

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“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, NIV).

In this one concise statement Jesus reveals a fundamental attribute of human behavior: People do what’s important to them!

In other words, your priorities dictate your behavior.

Your life in this world is not so much a matter of what you get out of it as what you put into it.

All of us have plans for the future and goals we want to achieve in life. These could be plans for success in your career, a six or seven figure salary, a new home or maybe an exotic vacation.

Whatever the plans or goals are, we strive for those things that are important to us. And, Jesus makes it clear in this pronouncement that the things that we personally value are the things that control our lives.

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You Are What You Wish For – Jeremiah 2:5

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“Thus says the Lord: ‘What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?'” (Jeremiah 2:5, ESV).

The prophet Jeremiah was called to prophesy to the people of Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah and until the city’s final fall to the Babylonians. Jeremiah preached Old Testament themes in a fresh way. His unique theological contribution as an Old Testament prophet was his articulation of the new covenant between God and humanity (see Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Jeremiah emphasized that God’s chosen people, Israel with whom God had made a special covenant, had forsaken Him and chosen to worship other gods. In this verse Jeremiah claimed that instead of seeking God, the Israelites were going after worthless idols.

Instead of seeking God, which was worthwhile, they tried to find spirituality in idols, which were worthless. And, by seeking after that which was worthless their lives consequently became worthless.

You are what you wish for–rather, you become what you wish for–according to Jeremiah.

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The One Thing That Really Matters – Luke 10:38-42

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busyness“But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her'” (Luke 10:41-42, NASB).

I have a busy life. Busy, busy, busy. I have all these important things I need to do. I suppose I’m an important guy because everything I do or need to do is so important!

But, I’ve got so many important things to do that there’s not enough time to do them all. And, it seems that I’m adding things to my “To Do” list faster than I’m checking things off of it. The list of incompletes is growing faster than the list of accomplishments.

In this busy, busy, busy life of mine, doing all these important things I am doing can distract me from the main reason I am doing them. All my busyness can distract me from the one thing that really matters. All my busyness can cause me to lose focus on Jesus!

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Staying Focused – Nehemiah 6:15-16

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staying_focused“So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15-16, NLT).

Nehemiah Chapter 6 recounts the extraordinary political intrigue taking place behind the scenes attempting to prevent Nehemiah and the Jews from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

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Updating Your To-Do List – Haggai 1:5

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todolist2“Now, the Lord of hosts says this: ‘Think carefully about your ways'”  (Haggai 1:5, HCSB).

The work of rebuilding the Temple had ceased for about ten years by order of King Artaxerxes of Persia (Ezra 4:24). Near the end of this ten-year cessation period, Haggai the prophet received a message from God to incite the repatriated Jews to complete the rebuilding of the Temple.

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You Can’t Have It Both Ways – 1 Samuel 7:3

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onewayJesus“If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines” (1 Samuel 7:3, NLT).

Samuel had gathered all of Israel together to repent of their idolatry and rededicate themselves to God.

While Israel was assembled, the Philistines attacked them. Samuel prayed and God helped the Israelites defeat the Philistines because they had repented and rededicated themselves to serving and obeying God. Consequently, the Philistines didn’t attack Israel again until after Saul became king.

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