Idols scare me.

Not in the way that I suppose that statement might be taken - I am not afraid of idols in themselves, demons or the plans of the enemy. I have power through the authority of Christ to deal with these things, and though I have on occassion momentarily panicked before kicking some demon butt, I am not living in a place of fear of those little critters.

What frightens me is our tendencies as the bride of Christ to look for idols. Or worse yet, to have found an idol and not even know it. Doug Burr in his blog on Saturday (October 22nd) talked about how sin creeps up on us, it doesn't always jump out make itself obvious. Have we examined our lives recently to discover and erradicate any idols that might be there?

Here are the kind that frighten me the most: the kind that are so ingrained within the church that to speak against them can (and usually does) bring strife in the body. They are powerful - no, let me re-phrase that - they have been given too much power. By us.

Idols scare me because they endanger the purity of our offering to God. They endanger the wholeness of our devotion to Him and they sacrifice both our witness of God in the world and our intimacy in relationship with Him. They have to go. And sometimes it feels like playing "Where's Waldo" to find them and be honest with ourselves as the bride of Christ about where they are, about what has too much importance in our lives, and about what is damaging the purity of our relationships with an all-deserving God.

May our eyes be opened to revelation.
May our hearts be soft to accountability.




40 DAYS OF PURPOSE
Chapter Thirty: Shaped for Serving God

Main idea: Two of the things that help shape what we were created to do in ministry are our spiritual gifts and our passions (heart).
Most impactful verse: "There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. (1 Corinthians 12:5 NLT)"
Most impactful concept: Two characteristics that you are serving God from the heart are enthusiasm and effectiveness.
Other thoughts: For some reason this concept of our passions being part of the thing that shapes us for service is very important to me. Perhaps because I'm a musician? And to have an intense love for music and all its inner workings seems an almost personal thing rather than something that will edify the body. Yes, it is used in musical worship ministry, and considering that seeing God glorified in the way He deserves is also a passion, that fits very well. Together with my spiritual gifts and experiences, etc., the music works to be used in that way. But occassionally I feel that to just sit and listen to a Beethoven symphony or Mozart's Requiem and dissect its finer points of composition is my favourite thing in the world to do. I wonder if doing that and enjoying the way God created music is in itself worship? In the movie "Chariots of Fire" the main character wants to be a runner instead of a missionary because he says that when he runs he feels God's pleasure. I used to think that my love for classical music and just knowing about how music works was rather selfish, not much used to anyone except myself and a bunch of other slightly obsessed musicians. But the more I think about it and read things like this chapter, the more I begin to understand that without that passion in my life, I would be unable to do much of the ministry that I'm in. Praise the Lord that He knows better. Praise the Lord that He made music so complex and cool, and lets me use it to magnify His holy name.