Rid Yourselves of the Foreign Gods

"If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only..." 1 Samuel 7:3

Jesus tells us in the Books of Mark and Luke that a "A slave cannot serve two masters." When we make a choice to serve the Lord, we must make up our minds that if we are to truly serve Him, we must serve him alone. Just as Jesus warns that if we try to do both, that we will "hate the one and love the other."

I know in my personal walk with God through my relationship with Jesus, I found that He has had to reveal to me the truth about the gods that I follow because most of them are very subtle. Money and Materialism are certainly the ones that seem the most obvious, but as God reveals things to me over time, I find there are many hidden idols that I serve not realizing they are distracting me from God.

Those things that I thought I had mastery over are the very ones that God shows me I put before him. It is not an overnight task to follow what Samuel is saying. "...Serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines," Samuel goes on to say. We must walk with the Lord and he will reveal and deliver us out of the things that keep us from experiencing the complete joy that comes from serving him alone. At times it is frustrating that but giving ourselves completely to the Lord is a lifetime process, not a one time event!

Each time God reveals a new "Ashtoreth" to me, I know for the next season in my life, I am in for a struggle until He reveals the root and helps me to "rid myself" of it. Some are harder than others and many of them return often. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR GRACE!

"For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." 1 Peter 2:20

We must wait patiently on the Lord and sometimes suffer through our shortcomings. However, as we rid ourselves of the idols that hold us back God receives the glory through our sufferings just as Jesus did on the cross. Idol "smashing" is not so much about us as it is about Him and his great power.

My prayer. Lord thank you that you are a Great God and that you can and will deliver us from our Baals and Ashtoreths. Father, in the name of your Son Jesus, and with your saving grace, please come into our lives and reveal to us those idols that we serve and help us to rid ourselves of them. Thank you for the journey that we undertake when we choose to serve you and put away "foolish things" that hinder us from truly loving you. Make us stronger and increase our patience as we go. Thank you for loving us and may we bring you glory as we suffer in service to you just as your Son did on the cross. I love you Lord and thank you for loving me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

A Clanging Symbol

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angles, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 Cor. 13:1

Take one tablet three times daily, the doctor might say when prescribing medicine to assist in healing an infection. Such is the advice of a pastor I recently had an opportunity to hear at Promisekeepers 08. Bishop Larry Jackson (http://www.promisekeepers.org/speaker-bios/larry-jackson), the author of "Guilt Free Living," told a crowd of seven thousand including me who struggled with pornography, overwork, neglecting their family, financial difficulties, and many other sins to repent, find an accountability partner to pray with, rid yourself of temptations, and read 1 Cor 13 "The Love Chapter" three times a day.

I have begun to take his prescription. For the next several days and weeks, I will write devotionals relating to the chapter as the Lord begins to work inside me to restore my brokenness and pick up the pieces of my heart damaged by my sinful nature.

1 Cor 13:1 gets to the heart of our walk with God. Our relationship with Him must come from our heart and not only from outward displays such as speaking in tongues. Without true love like that which was demonstrated by Jesus Christ, none of our efforts or even our faith will be satisfying to God. We must learn to love God with everything that we are and we must love our fellow man as we love ourselves. Love is the endpoint of everything with God and once we achieve perfect love we will see clearly what Jesus was like and understand how he wants us to live.

Let's take this adventure together and see what God is going to do in our lives!

My prayer: Lord I am a sinner and a repeat offender, forgive me please. I ask in the name of Jesus that you patiently walk beside me and firmly reveal that which is displeasing to you in my life. Breakdown the walls of sin within me and replace them with love that is genuine, deep and overflowing. Teach me to love like you Daddy, give me a heart that breaks for your people, and use me as a vessel to reach others for Christ. Amen!