To the IDOLATER,
the Potter Loves You
Psalm 135:15-18
(15)The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by
human hands. (16)They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but
cannot see. (17)They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath
in their mouths. (18)Those are who make them will be like them, and
so will all who truth in them. (NIV)
God had chosen Israel to be His
special people. He made a covenant to be their God and promised to bless them
abundantly. In return, they were to honor, serve and worship only Him. They
were not to practice the rituals of the heathen nations, but live a Godly life
in accordance to His concepts and commands that He handed down to Moses.
Unfortunately, the Children of Israel failed miserably at staying consistent
with worshiping God alone. Exodus 20:3-4 “You shall have no
other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (NIV)
Israel placed their devotion in gods of wood, stone, gold,
and silver. They preferred an earthly king to lead them over the King above.
They did not honor the land every as was required every seven years by giving
it a rest and they sacrificed their children to idols to appease Baal and other
foreign gods. Israel committed acts of sexual immorality with heathen women,
married, and bore children with them; therefore, handing down the pagan
practices from generation to generation. Overall, they placed things, money and
people over God; therefore, they allowed self to become an idol by not being
obedient to the laws of God. Their idolatry became so repulsive that God had
one of His prophets, Hosea, to marry a prostitute to show them how they were
acting towards Him – in utter adultery due to their idolatry. Hosea
1:2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go,
many a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous
wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” (NIV)
In modern times, we too have placed various idols before
God. The idols that many people have may not be in the form of wood and stone,
but they are of no less a sin in that they have been replaced by gold and
silver. 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves
with many griefs. (NIV) Yes, money has caused many to ignore and
totally have a disregard for God to obtain selfish gain. This however, is not
limited to those in the secular world, but even in many churches, leaders are
on the take and pimp their congregation out of money to obtain the finer things
in life for themselves and their families such as houses, cars, clothes,
status, and fame. The members, inappropriately, have been programmed to accept
this type of behavior by thinking that if they give to their leaders’ cause,
they too can have similar idols. All the while, whole congregations along with
their leaders are on one a one-way trip to hell.
Many have sold their souls to become number one in music,
books, sports, television, and other types of stardom. They compromise what is
right and allow their God-given morals to go down the drain to obtain the
things of this world. But Jesus posed the question in regards to profitability
of material gain only to lose out on eternal life. Mark 8:36-37 What good is
it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can
anyone give in exchange for their soul? (NIV) In the end, many will
find that they were bamboozled by the enemy and the trade-off was not worth it. Regrettably,
it will be too late once their names are not found in the Book of Life.
You may say that you do not have any idols. Well, let’s make
sure that you know what an idol is. An idol is anything that you place before
God. This means that if you spend more time in the television rather than with
God, that is your idol. If you always call friends for advice prior to getting
on your knees, you have made them an idol. If you have more faith in your
pastor than picking up the Word of God and studying for yourself, you have made
your pastor an idol. If you have been blessed with a job, but never give
anything to support the spreading of the gospel, you have made money your idol
These are just a few ways to have idols in your life. Jonah 2:8 “Those who cling
to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.” (NIV)
Many people have made the mistake of having singers, actors,
and actresses; athletes, pastors, and politicians as idols in their lives.
Unfortunately, should these individuals every fall, that person who has
idolized them become crushed with disappointment. We see examples of this when
pastors fall into sin, but the congregation allows them to continue leading
without any type of spiritual disciplinary actions. 1 Corinthians 5:11
But
now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to
be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or
slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. (NIV) Their
idolization of a leader has caused them failure to do as the Bible prescribes.
Politicians are often the recipients of idolization because every four years,
people place their faith in the politician’s words instead of getting guidance
from God with regards to filling out the ballot. Regardless of which party they
switch too, the results are normally the same. So, what are you to do? Get help
at the Potter’s House.
The Potter shows you what you need to do to put Him above
all else. He takes out time to carefully mold you so that both you and Him can
have an everlasting relationship. He never puts you on the back-burner. You are
always first with Him. You may ask, “How is that so when there are so many
people on the planet?” Well, as we discussed in an earlier chapter, the Potter
is always able to single in on you regardless of the amount of people in the
world. How is He able to do this? Only He knows, but we can be assured that He
can because He is God. Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord
are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. (NIV) Just
like you are first to Him, the Potter desires to be first in your life. He does
not want you to put your faith in things, people and/or money.
The Potter will supply all your needs, but not your greed. Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his
glory in Christ Jesus. (NIV) He even gives extra to those who He
adores. Unlike people, the Potter will never disappoint. Unlike things, the
Potter can never be loss. Unlike money, the Potter never runs dry. At the
Potter’s House, there is plenty if you put Him first.
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