Prayer: Father, I am building every day a higher, expanding view of who You are through the reading of Your Word. Help me to spot the idols I may be serving unknowingly and clear them from my life. In the name of Yeshua, amen.
Reading: Psalm 97 key: vs. 9
9 For You, Adonai, are Elyon above all the earth.
You are exalted far above all gods.
Attention: There is a phrase in this psalm which I find very troubling. It is a phrase which our generation has ignored and knows little about. This phrase I had ignored until a couple of years ago, when I was convicted about the hours, I had invested over the course of my life in playing, viewing, and financially investing in my sports addiction.
So, what is a “graven image?” The phrase comes straight out of the Torah, what we call the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 3-4).
“You shall have no other gods before Me. Do not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth.”
A graven image was a handmade “image” either carved or cast, much like a statue. The key word for today’s culture is image. When have we ever had more images bombarding our eyes and mind? Many of our addictions are images of the real thing. Magazines, social media, television, movies, cell phones, and tablets are all transmitters of images.
My question to myself was, am I giving more time to God than I am to other images? Do I spend more time with Him and His Word, than watching my favorite television show or movie. Do I invest more money in God’s kingdom work than my favorite hobby? Do I worship and desire God more than my addictions?
I named this ministry after Colossians 1:18b “that He might come to have first place in all things.” While this is a worthy goal, I had someone point out to me that God not only wants to have first place, but He also wants to have the only place in your heart. In the order of the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” comes before the commandment about graven images. There are to be no other gods.
I encourage you to take some time meditating on this truth and taking inventory of your heart. We personally and individually cannot exalt Adonai if He is not first and only in your life.
Action: I repent today of the idolatry I have allowed to turn my heart away from God.
Yield: I give my heart and life anew to Adonai!
Engage: I repent when I allow the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin.
Relationship: I will worship Adonai only!
Prayer: Father, You want the entirety of my heart. I give You my heart and soul anew today! Work in me to rid my life of addictions to sin and images which lure me away from You. Amen.
Memory Verse: Exodus 20: 3-4
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 Do not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth.
Music Video: Phillips, Craig & Dean – You Are God Alone (Not A God) (Official Lyric Video)
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”