I find reading the Bible is essential for all believers because it serves as a mirror for us. Otherwise, we could easily think we’re on the right path while in reality wandering aimlessly in the wrong direction. It’s scarily easy to wander away. Best intentions do not help when we follow our own whims instead of God’s plan for us. It’s time to check your idols. Without the Bible, we’d be lost faster than we can imagine. We might think…
Where is your happy place? What do you do when you have some me-time? Answers to these questions reveal a lot about who you are and what you value most. They also can reveal your secret idols. It’s good to have a place where we can relax and put our hair down. But sometimes our heart leads us astray and we create altars for our secret idols and visit them much more than we should. For where your treasure is,…
As Western culture becomes increasingly more secular, we are facing the same problems as the Israelites in the Old Testament. My heart has been breaking for quite some time now for Christians who start to dabble with angels cards, crystals, manifesting, you name it. They look for anywhere but Christ to get answers or fulfillment for their yearnings. Why do they do that? Because they are not familiar with the power of God or the fire of the Holy Spirit. Somehow they…
Today I was reminded of opening my hands to receive what God has for me. It shocked me a bit because I had thought I was open for God to move freely in and through my life. But I was reminded to empty and open my hands to receive. So I must have had something in them to keep me from being open-handed. That got me thinking: what kind of things do we keep in our hands even without noticing…
Summer is an awesome time for spiritual check-ups. Usually, we get some time off the grid or even time away from routines. That gives us time to see our life better than when we are barely trying to survive from day to day. Today I am trying to look at my life if there are any other gods than God Almighty. You know, it’s so easy to start collecting idols without even noticing it. How about you? Are you collecting…
Are you a perfectionist? Have you made ideal your idol? Sometimes we try so hard to make everything perfect that ideal really becomes our idol. But perfectness does not save us. Perfectness is an illusion that deludes us. The best way to deal with perfectionism is to learn to live in grace. Because grace is a game changer, eye opener, freedom-releaser. We can quit trying to be perfect and embrace trusting. The fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God…
Tables are wonderful gathering places, aren’t they? Especially the Lord’s table. I was searching the Bible and found this verse where “the Lord’s table” is mentioned the first time. It took me by surprise. Like I had never read it before (and I am sure I have). You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. (1 Cor. 10:21,…
I’ve always thought that we should only serve one God and we should not have idols. God should be number one in our lives. I had thought those possible idols would be other people or work or hobbies, somebody or something else than me. But then I read this from Isaiah: “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress…
Why do we year after year fall into the same trap of consumerism and busyness? Why do we let the lies of the world consume our thinking and feeling so much that there’s not much space left for anything real? Why do we stress about performing a perfect Christmas? Don’t ruin everything and make an idol for yourself: a form of any image, any likeness—male or female— or any likeness whatsoever, whether of a land animal, a bird that flies…
