[Functional gods] -The Gospel

   Functional gods aren't normally a term we use for idols, but they are one and the same. Functional gods makes us sound like heathens who worship dolls, rather than just people with idols. STOP! That's it. #1} We are heathens and we worship things that might as well be dolls. { This is not a fun truth to come by. It kind of unsettling if you really thing about it. But really, what do you value? I mean do you value your life? Your life is a good example of an idol, at least for me. I tend to think of what makes me happy, what is the easy route (especially in school), what happens when I die, what I will do tomorrow. THATS life. That can be an easy idol. And whats the difference between life and a doll to God? I mean we are putting both before him. It's like rocks or snakes? Are snakes worse because they are alive? NO. They are both shameful in the eyes of the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
   Another example, "You worship whatever it is you deem most essential for life and happiness." That is taking out life, and bringing someother kind of rock. What do you think is most essential to life? Your RELIGION? Your FAMILY?Your JOB? Your MONEY? These are the common ones, but there are many more. We can't have anything but God be the rock of our life. We have to fully worship him ALL the time. It's easier said then done, I understand. But why not start the process now? Why wait?
    "When something becomes so important to you that it drives your behavior and commands your emotions, you are worshipping it." Whew. Big blow. We generally don't like to say we worship our idols. More like, 'we really enjoy them, in a wrong way and we're changing' kind of ending that with in an upbeat. BUT, obviously we DO WORSHIP idols and we are ashamed of admitting it. I love his point here when he says, "The Hebrew word for 'glory' (kabod) literally means 'weight'." If there was a scale or your life, one side was God, and the other was idols, which one would be heavier? I am horrified to admit, for me it would be idols. My scale would be a no brainer. I'm sure most peoples would. That is something that we are allowed to have sorrow for. I encourage you to look at your 'scale' today and measure it honestly. Do idols weigh more than God? Let us repent today of our wickedness, and our bowing down and worshiping idols. The Repentant People will not be ignored by God.
    AND guess what? HIS GRACE is enough. Amen? Grace plunges the other side of that scale and than we are whole again in Christ. But let's not get grace and than tumble down and than get grace and tumble down. Let us rest in his grace and grow in Him.

    "In Christ, there is nothing I can do that could make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less." -JD Greear

~Hannah