Posted by Josh Howerton on Sep 26, 2011 | 2 comments
“Our human minds are a perpetual factory of idols.”
- John Calvin
In WG’s yesterday we hit one of THE megathemes of Scripture: idolatry. Here’s what most of us think about when we hear the word “idol”…
Typically, we think of statues that are worshiped as gods or representatives of gods. In the Bible, however, idolatry is much more than that. In the Bible, idolatry is…
- Any God-substitute
- Treating anything in your life as if it were God
- Putting anything in the place of God
To give it a comprehensive definition, Idolatry is…
Looking to something created for something that only the Creator can give.
So we have idols in our lives when we…
- Build our happiness on something other than God (children, hobbies, success, etc)
- Run to something other than God to “save” us in times of emotional trouble (food, alcohol, pornography, TV)
- Look to something other than God for our sense of self-worth (vocational performance, the praise/acceptance of people around us, etc)
- Trust in something other than God for our basic sense of security or safety (our savings account, our spouse, etc)
- Shape our identities around anything other than our relationship with God (we try to be “the music guy” or “the organized girl” or “the athlete” or “the smart person” or “the techie”)
These things are “idols of the heart”, are just as serious and sinful as a golden statue in your living room, and they begin to function like God in your life by mastering you. Except rather than being a good and gracious master like Jesus, they destroy and punish and never forgive. Identifying and turning from the idols of our hearts is central to the Christian life. Borrowed from
The Resurgence, here are 11 ways to find your idols…
- What do I worry about most?
- What, if I failed or lost it, would cause me to feel that I did not even want to live?
- What do I use to comfort myself when things go bad or get difficult?
- What do I do to cope? What are my release valves? What do I do to feel better?
- What preoccupies me? What do I daydream about?
- What makes me feel the most self-worth? Of what am I the proudest? For what do I want to be known?
- What do I lead with in conversations?
- Early on what do I want to make sure that people know about me?
- What prayer, unanswered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God?
- What do I really want and expect out of life? What would really make me happy?
- What is my hope for the future?
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Posted by The Bridge Podcast on Sep 24, 2011 | Comments Off
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Posted by Josh Howerton on Sep 19, 2011 | 2 comments
I recently wrote a message to a Bridge member whose mom is suffering with terminal cancer. As many of you know, in seasons like this questions abound and all of a sudden it becomes a challenge to find an anchor for your soul. With his permission, here’s my counsel to this man…
__________ – apologies for just getting back to you on this, brother. I was out of town last week at a pastor’s conference in Chicago and out of communication for most of the time. To finish our conversation…
John 11 is the chapter I visit most often during seasons of pain. As you’ll remember, one of Jesus’ closest friends (Lazarus) has just died. Jesus was told that Lazarus was dying a few days earlier, but the text says that BECAUSE Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus he stayed where he was instead of going to heal Lazarus. When Jesus sees the tomb and the people weeping, he is overcome with emotion (sadness and anger) and begins to weep himself. Then Jesus – with a word – calls Lazarus out of the tomb and raises him from the dead.
A few deep, rock-solid things this passage resources us with in the midst of pain…
- God is in control and has good purposes for us in the midst of our pain. Again, verse 6 says that Jesus intentionally stayed where he was instead of going to heal Lazarus because he loved Lazarus and his sisters. Some people try to “absolve” God by saying things like “God had nothing to do with this” or “this wasn’t in his hands”. First, this passage couldn’t be more clear that Jesus was in control and intentionally allowed the pain to take place because he loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. This has been a rock for me in seasons of pain, _______. Knowing that God is both sovereign and good gives us unquenchable resources for comfort in the midst of pain. Second, it is ANYTHING BUT comforting to be forced to think that some things are “out of God’s hands” and not controlled by our good Father. There are few (any?) things I can think of that would cause me more fear than to think God isn’t in control when I am in pain.
- When we weep, Jesus weeps with us. God doesn’t take a stoic, “I’m sovereign so just deal with my will” attitude toward our pain. Jesus sees the tomb (with a dead body in it), sees the people weeping, and himself weeps – angry because he knows that the world was never supposed to be like this. The presence of pain in the world is a result of the of The Fall and isn’t what God originally intended for us. It’s incredibly comforting to know that when I shed a tear, God sheds a tear with me. It may be helpful to meditate on Hebrews 4:15 right now.
- God will mend whatever brokenness we experience. The most helpful way to view all of Jesus’ miracles is to view them as “Flash Forwards” to his future kingdom. Jesus – with a single word – calls Lazarus out of the grave… and he will do the same thing upon his return and much, much more. Our pain – your mother’s death if God does not heal her – is not the end of the story with which you have to reconcile yourself. Jesus’ triumphant return as a conquering warrior king, subjugating all of the horrific effects of sin in the world is The End. John 11 is a rock-solid reminder that when Jesus returns everything sad will come untrue. Our hearts can rest in that.
________, I’m yours during this season of your life and want to be your pastor. If you need me, call me. Let me know if you need to get together or want to talk and we’ll make it happen. Praying for you, brother.
josh
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