"So all of you, watch yourselves! Don't forget the covenant that the LORD your God made with you by making an idol or an image of any kind or anything the LORD your God forbids, because the LORD your God is an all-consuming fire. He is a passionate God." (Deuteronomy 4:23-24)
He certainly is passionate. The cross is evidence of his passion for me and he desires that I would be just as consumed with him, filled with passion for his heart.
Idol worship looks a bit different these days. No longer are there craftsmen plying their trade with stone and wooden objects meant to adorn the shrines of our home. Today we have idols of our own making. They look kind of like Jesus but not exactly. They are always less than what he is, a forgery of the true God.
For the most part, the followers of Jesus have lost their understanding of the majesty of the King. We call him Lord. We call him King. But somehow we do not obey him as such. There is a level of respect and awe that we must retain in our understanding of majesty. When we desire to obey him from love alone it somehow becomes an optional thing but when that love is added to our understanding of King then new life is breathed into our desire to live a life of obedience.
When we lose our sense of awe in the majesty of Jesus we begin to fashion a lesser image of our Lord. We tweak a little here and there to make our image of him a little more comfortable, a little easier to live with, a little more in line with our way of thinking and feeling. We create our god after our own image, which is a lot easier to live up to in this day and age. But that lesser image is an idol and our Father is not pleased.
If our journey with Jesus in this mission he has called us to is easy and requires no sacrifice on our part, we had better check who or what we are worshiping. Our image of God is foundational to who we become. If that foundation is wrong then all the fruit that springs from it is wrong. Just look around at how much of the Church has adjusted their view of our Lord and how sin has now consumed them. They compromised the truth of God, they lessened his majesty, and now they are doing what they think is best according to the idol they have set in the place of the King. They worship an impostor.
We need to seek again a proper understanding of the majesty of our King, according to the revelation he has given of himself in the Bible,. The Spirit brings us to the deeper places but those deeper places are always revealed in the Word. Seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, not the idol you are creating to make it easier on yourself. Hint, the Kingdom will make you uncomfortable most of the time but will be marked by righteousness, peace and joy.
Showing posts with label majesty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label majesty. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Who Do You Worship During Christmas? (part 2)
Don't be mistaken this Christmas, we don't worship a baby Jesus. In fact, the Jesus we worship is beyond the one we read about in the gospels. We get a glimpse of him near the end but we will come to know him so much more as we serve. Jesus of the gospels set for us an example of a life lived to the fullest through the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is a lot more than this. We need to have better clarity on who it is we worship:
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)
The one who we worship this Christmas is not a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes or even the one who walked on water. Yes, he was that but he is so much more. He is clothed in what we will become when we are called home. He is dressed in eternity which will also be ours. We need to remember that Jesus is the instrument of creation. He is the word with which the Father spoke things into being. By him all things were created.
That's what makes his 33 years with us so much more amazing. We know he is the Son of God and we know he is our Saviour, but I don't think we always appreciate who he is. This one we celebrate this Christmas by placing him in a manger is the one through whom heaven and earth were created. Pretty amazing when you stop to think about it. The one who is responsible for this entire universe volunteered to come as one of us, to rescue us from our own stupidity.
He is responsible for all the things we see; the great waterfalls, the beautiful sunsets, the majestic mountains, the microscopic wonders, the far flung stars. He is also responsible for what we cannot see; the invisible world that so many deny but that is just as real as the visible. The One we keep putting back in the manger is responsible for it all.
This also includes the great powers of the visible and invisible world. When he returns all authorities will bend their knee to him as the reality of his full majesty is pressed upon them. Every authority in the invisible world will yield to him as well. Read the Word, Jesus will not take on Satan, the angels will. Satan is so far beneath the King of kings that the King does not need to face this foe to defeat him. When he returns to take his place as ruler there will be such an army with him that we will finally begin to realize the authority that is our God.
The thing to remember today is that not only was everything created by Jesus but it is created for him. The Father has established the Son's authority and he has placed everything under his feet. He used the Son to create everything and he did it for his Son. Everything belongs to Jesus even if they reject Jesus. It is good to keep that in mind the next time you think of not being nice to someone; that person belongs to Jesus.
This is who I am celebrating this Christmas. Yes, he came as a baby, just like us, but he did not remain a baby. We is the King of kings and Lord of lords, so beyond our comprehension and yet called our friend. He is supreme over everything including your small life and everything in it. There is nothing that comes into your life that he does not know about and nothing that comes against you that he has not permitted. The enemy can't do anything against you that Jesus has not allowed and if he allowed it there is reason for it, even if it is simply to add muscle to your faith. He is sovereign and I trust him. Who are you worshiping this Christmas?
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)
The one who we worship this Christmas is not a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes or even the one who walked on water. Yes, he was that but he is so much more. He is clothed in what we will become when we are called home. He is dressed in eternity which will also be ours. We need to remember that Jesus is the instrument of creation. He is the word with which the Father spoke things into being. By him all things were created.
That's what makes his 33 years with us so much more amazing. We know he is the Son of God and we know he is our Saviour, but I don't think we always appreciate who he is. This one we celebrate this Christmas by placing him in a manger is the one through whom heaven and earth were created. Pretty amazing when you stop to think about it. The one who is responsible for this entire universe volunteered to come as one of us, to rescue us from our own stupidity.
He is responsible for all the things we see; the great waterfalls, the beautiful sunsets, the majestic mountains, the microscopic wonders, the far flung stars. He is also responsible for what we cannot see; the invisible world that so many deny but that is just as real as the visible. The One we keep putting back in the manger is responsible for it all.
This also includes the great powers of the visible and invisible world. When he returns all authorities will bend their knee to him as the reality of his full majesty is pressed upon them. Every authority in the invisible world will yield to him as well. Read the Word, Jesus will not take on Satan, the angels will. Satan is so far beneath the King of kings that the King does not need to face this foe to defeat him. When he returns to take his place as ruler there will be such an army with him that we will finally begin to realize the authority that is our God.
The thing to remember today is that not only was everything created by Jesus but it is created for him. The Father has established the Son's authority and he has placed everything under his feet. He used the Son to create everything and he did it for his Son. Everything belongs to Jesus even if they reject Jesus. It is good to keep that in mind the next time you think of not being nice to someone; that person belongs to Jesus.
This is who I am celebrating this Christmas. Yes, he came as a baby, just like us, but he did not remain a baby. We is the King of kings and Lord of lords, so beyond our comprehension and yet called our friend. He is supreme over everything including your small life and everything in it. There is nothing that comes into your life that he does not know about and nothing that comes against you that he has not permitted. The enemy can't do anything against you that Jesus has not allowed and if he allowed it there is reason for it, even if it is simply to add muscle to your faith. He is sovereign and I trust him. Who are you worshiping this Christmas?
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