My i dol(l)

   The concept of  i dol(l) came from a BSF classmate, Sue, during the study of Isaiah. Thank you Sue for your insight. Praise God for his revelation.


  It is the time of  i phones,  i pads and  i pods. All personalized to our wants and needs,  and for everything we want or need...."there is an app for that."  an application, a download if you will.

so why not an i  dol(l)
like a doll, a me, filled to the brim with every convenient helpful application I desire.

I mean..we create idols all the time.

  John Calvin said the heart is a perpetual idol factory.
Sport events and teams that take all our time, energy and money, only to be let down when the season is over.
   We seek people and their opinions over God's

We have plenty of time to read but never time to read scripture. Perhaps taking the word of a mere man as gospel over the gospel itself.
We can be controlled by drink, food, addictions, or sex.  Only to be left feeling full of self and empty of soul.

Guilty
Tired


 Many cultures today still worship the idols of old, statues demi- gods.
But the oldest idol of all is still the most prevalent. The idol of self.
Why not call it the  i dol(l)
     downloadable, upgradable

Maybe I , my doll, is programmed to believe marriage is good and honorable, that relationships are sacred and should be protected.
then....someone comes along that gives me attention or makes me feel good,
I know Jesus said to look at another with lust is adultry

      Do I download that app? or do I disregard it?

God says not to covet anything of my neighbors, but my i dol(l) wants a bigger house and a nicer car...like he has. I can always choose to download the I am content and thankful for what I have app or the I deserve it, he doesn't, it's not fair  app.

Do not steal! Sounds good to me I don't want anyone stealing from me, yet

   I "borrow" from work or I copy a friends CD or computer program.
I mean I'm not really stealing that...they charge too much anyway. There is an app for that.


 James 1 :26 if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

NEVERMIND... my i dol(l) is full there isn't even room for that one!


I fashion my i dol(l) however I like,
I serve my i dol(l)   I choose my i dol(l)

I often follow my i dol(l)'s whims and emotions, reacting to the world around me.
Is 44:20       Idols mislead and delude
 Is 57:13     Idols cannot save
Is 42:17      Those who trust in idols will be turned back in utter shame

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

 ¹ And God spoke all these words:  ² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
 ³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.
 ⁴ “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. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

idol- anything put in the place of God
             anything you exalt in your heart that is a substitute for God
           any belief about God that is not true



How do we cure idol and i dol(l) worship?
Well......guess what there is an app for that. It is called scripture.

Application-

–noun

1. the act of putting to a special use or purpose

2. the special use or purpose to which something is put

3. the quality of being usable for a particular purpose or in a special way; relevance: 

4. close attention; persistent effort an act or instance of spreading on, rubbing in, or bringing into contact: the application of a compress to a wound;

a salve, ointment, or the like, applied as a soothing or healing agent.

The word of God for a special purpose, relevant, a salve, an ointment applied to a wound. 


Stop by Spiritual Sundays for more thoughts and inspiration.

Glancing or Gazing Upon the Lord

Jaded- worn out, wearied     to make or become dull
Glance- to look suddenly and briefly
Gaze- to look intently and steadily
       stare as in wonder or expectancy


There is nothing like lying in a hospital bed to increase your prayer life.
 Pain, tubes, morphine hallucinations...
  one feels vulnerable, weak.

Before going in unexpectantly for a second surgery, if you had asked me about my faith I would have said it was strong.... yet relaxed.
Now I had no faith crisis, no disbelief, no struggle with God, I had just become comfortable.
Prayer- less frequent, study less intense, if one were to climb a ladder of faith I had perhaps stepped down a rung.

Once when I was a new Christian a friend that had been active in the church for years said to me, "You haven't been a believer long enough to be jaded."
   I remember being shocked and praying that night that I never would become "jaded".
yet...
somehow over the years that fire within , the desire to know God more became...dulled.
Always in a bible study learning about Him but not meeting with Him.
Always praying to Him but not approaching Him.
You see I was glancing at Him. I was not gazing upon Him.
My head knew and my heart forgot.

Still knowing He was on the throne,
              mighty,
                     merciful,
           holy and full of grace,
I glanced his way.
The will of man sometimes needs drastic measures to stop wandering away from the very God who created him.

So there I sat, weak, tired- no exhausted, self absorbed and uncomfortable in a hospital bed when a knock came.
In walked a man with gray hair and a full smile, he worked at the hospital in food service.
He asked if he could sing me a song.
I said yes.
He sang Beulah Land.
He spoke scripture.
Encouragement straight from God.
 The focus of the song is on eternity, the promise of Christ's return to gather those who are his. Focus on Him and His redeeming work....Beulah Land, the Promised Land.
when we glance His way it is easy to stay focused on ourselves
when we gaze and look intently and expectantly we should be in awe of who He is.

Do not glance upon the writer of History, do not merely look His way.
Gaze upon Him who can carry you into a glorious eternity;
To a place of glory, without pain, without fear.
Look intently....expectantly for He comes faithful and true.

Beulah Land

I'm kind of homesick for a country
to which I've never been before
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
and time won't matter anymore

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand
There my home shall be eternal.
In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land

I'm looking now across that river,
to where my faiths 'gonna end in sight
There's just a few more days to labor,
then I will take my heavenly flight

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand
There my home shall be eternal
In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land

In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land 



Stop by Spiritual Sundays for more inspiration.